Thousand Threads
by AkashaAvani
Summary: What would have happened if Edward and Bella never fell in love? What if Jacob really DID imprint on Bella? The story of Bella and Jacob! If you're an E/B fan, no one said you had to read it, but there's no Edward-bashing, so have no fear ;P
1. Prologue: The World As She Knows It

**Disclaimer:**** Because it's completely obvious that **_**I**_** am Stephanie Meyer... yeah, I wish, too. Unfortunately, not happening.**

**A/N: ****Thank you very, very, VERY much to gorgus818 and your story "And Then I Saw Your Face" and letting me spring off of it! **

**So the gist of this story is that there is nothing between Edward and Bella (I know, blasphemy, deal with it :D ) but some things are still the same. She never ended up in Phoenix with James and got hurt, but her blood is still every vampire's heroin, and the Cullens can't go onto the reservation.**

Prologue: The World As She Knows It

Bella's world revolved around three people. Edward and Alice were her best friends in Forks, Washington, where she'd moved to 2 months ago. They'd been godsends, even with all of their… odd habits. They were always there to help her out and had seen her through the roughest of times. They didn't even seem to mind that she was terminally clumsy.

There was just one thing about Edward and Alice Cullen that set them apart – well, apart from the obvious facts that they were unimaginably beautiful, they were paler than the snow that occasionally fell, and they had some sort of alien grace that made them seem to never stand still, always flowing from almost-stillness to motion without actual difference between the two. It was strange. But the real difference between her and the Cullens was simple; they were vampires, she was human. They had white skin that sparkled in the sun, eyes of liquid amber shot with rays of harvest sunlight, teeth that gleamed perfectly white and perfectly straight in their perfect faces. It made her sigh at times to be plain next to them. After all, how could a brown haired, brown eyed girl compare with their astonishing flawlessness? But that usually didn't come up in her mind. They were her friends, plain and simple.

The third person her world revolved around was Jacob Black. While he didn't live in Forks or go to her high school and she was two years older, she'd made mud pies with him when they were little, before she'd moved to Phoenix. It was when she'd returned and their dads had pushed them together that they'd become really close friends. Now, she couldn't imagine her life without him. Not in a romantic way, of course.

There was something strange about her friends. Whenever Edward and Alice learned she was going to the reservation, they acted... strange. Annoyed, almost, or angry. It was so odd, because it always came up when she mentioned Jacob or that she was going to see him. Well, she'd never said her friends weren't strange.

It was a Friday night, which meant movie night. This time her friends had opted for a movie at the theater, instead of at someone's house. Mike had invited her to go, but she'd turned it into a group thing to keep him from thinking it was a date. She shuddered the slightest bit at the thought. Mike-another one of her friends- had been not-so-subtly hinting that he liked her ever since she'd moved to Forks. It would be charming if it weren't so annoying.

When she'd suggested a group thing, he'd looked disappointed, but recovered quickly. They'd invited Ben, Angela, Edward and Alice-their siblings seemed a little... standoffish to most people, so it was just two of the Cullens- Jessica, Tyler, Eric and Jacob. Unfortunately plans didn't work out so well; Ben, Angela, Jessica, Tyler and Eric came down with the flu that'd been passing around school, and the Cullens heard Jacob's name and instantly said no. That left Bella with the her best friend and the boy who always tried to hit on her...


	2. Chapter One: Movie Mayhem

**A/N: **OMG I'm so sorry! Lol, when I was loading this I messed up and completely forgot to add this chapter! Hope you like this REAL chapter one! :D

Chapter One: Movie Mayhem

Bella felt a little awkward. After all, she was stuck in between two boys at a movie theater. Any normal, mostly-sane-girl would feel strange, right? Of course, it didn't help that Mike was staring at his shoes and Jake was... she looked over at him to see him..._laughing_. He was _laughing_, at possibly the most horrifically gory movie she'd ever seen. No, scratch that. It _was_ the most horrifically gory movie she'd ever seen. And he was laughing! That's it, she decided. She'd need therapy after this... add Jake to that list as well.

Looking over at Mike she paused. He looked a little... green. She checked to see what people were making sounds about – there was someone getting decapitated, at the moment. Mike chose that moment to jump out of his chair and run with his hand over his mouth like demons of nausea were chasing him. She had to admit, it was pretty disgusting.

Meanwhile, Jacob was laughing like a loon. "What is _wrong_ with you?" she asked, giving him a look that spoke volumes about the benefits of medication for crazy people.

"_Look_ at it, Bells!" he whispered, trying to keep his voice down so people could enjoy-or try to-the movie. "It's pathetic! No one's head flies off ten feet! And the sound effects sound like an anemic two-year-old is making them! Come on!" Bella looked back at the screen in time to see someone get slashed to bits- _ewwww_. But the more she thought about it, the more unreal it seemed. The sounds were totally wrong, the way the blood sprayed everything, everywhere was wrong. It was all just..._wrong__._ She laughed and this time Jacob turned to grin at her. "See? I told you!"

Though they were shushed many times during the movie, they continued to create their own commentary of the movie, laughing as people were annihilated in gruesome mis-detail. Eventually they started to worry about Mike when he didn't show up a half and hour later. Bella had visions of Mike getting dizzy while trying to make it to the men's room and hitting his head? What if he needed help? She told Jake this and he laughed again, the jerk.

With a glare to Jake she went to try to find Mike. Sighing, Jacob got up and followed, though he wasn't happy about missing the rest of the movie. They found the poor boy with his hand still clamped over his mouth and taking deep breaths, not that they were doing much for him. His face still looked like the cousin of an avocado, it was that sick-looking. "Could we leave?" Bella took pity on him and said yes; he really looked pathetic. Jake, while he did say yes, grumbled. He paused two steps out the door, and ran back in – and came back out with an empty popcorn bucket. Bella couldn't stop the 'that's really gross' face, but Jake shoved it into Mike's hands, gently just in case.

"Just... humor me," Jake mumbled. Mike nodded and climbed into the backseat. Bella felt terrible for him. He must've caught the bug that Angela and Ben had! 'Poor Mike,' Bella thought, but as Mike seemed ready to heave and hurl, Jake stepped on the gas even more, and Bella's thoughts turned towards 'poor Jake, and poor Jake's car!'

They'd just dropped Mike off- Bella had never seen him move so fast!- when Bella went to pat Jake and congratulate him on keeping cool under fire, or something corny like that. The instant her hand touched him, though, she jerked back. "Jake, you're hot!"

"Why thank you, Bells, you're not too bad your–"

"No, Jake, you're _really_ running a fever! You need to go to the hospital or something!" Bella brushed her hand against his forehead, where he was even more heated. She bit her bottom lip, worried for her friend.

"Nah, I don't feel sick. I do feel a little... strange, but not as if I'm gonna turn into a kiwi like Mike." Before she could argue, he held his hand up, pulling into her driveway. "I know, I know. I'm going home now, no detours, straight to bed. Night mom." He grinned at her. She shook her head and looked him over one last time, checking for herself to see if he looked alright. From just looking, he seemed like he always did, the sort-of-skinny, brown skinned Quileute boy who was one of her best friends.

Seeing her fear, he tugged her hair gently and pointed towards her house. "Charlie's waiting for you at the door. Don't make him get the shotgun, please." He grinned. Shaking her head, Bella moved to shut the door. Before it had closed, she opened it back up.

"Jake, promise?"

"Promise what, Bells?"

"Drive slow, keep both hands on the wheel, eyes on the road, and when you get home-"

"Call you, check in, grab some aspirin and go to bed. Don't worry so much. I'm fine, Bells." She didn't say anything, just continued to look at him with those big melted chocolate eyes. "Okay, Bella. I promise. Will that make you not worry?"

She shook her head, but a ghost of a smile tugged her mouth up on one side. "Not a chance." She closed the door and went to the house, already thinking of horrible accidents and deaths that could befall her friend on the way to his house on the reservation.

She didn't have much time to think of those scenes, though, as she raced to the bathroom for the hundredth time. Charlie came in and checked on her as he had throughout the night. "Are you gonna be alright if I go to work?" He looked rather nervous, as if she'd accidentally turn her head and be sick on him. _Poor Charlie_, she thought. _He's never had to deal with a sick kid. _

"No, Dad. I'll be fine. Do you think you could get Edward or Alice to come over after school, though?"

"No problem kiddo." He paused, hovering for once. "Uh, soup's in the fridge, made it a little bit ago. If you can manage that, good. If not... toast is easy on your stomach. Try to eat something today." His pager buzzed. "That's Don. Another problem with the terrier. Well... see ya."

"Bye Dad." She waved weakly and crawled into bed. If she got the chance, she'd kill Mike, she swore it. Jerk had undoubtedly spread the bug to her, too!

Bella heard the cruiser pull out of the driveway, but she was surprised to hear the soft purr of the Volvo pull up not that much later. Not even two seconds after the engine had turned off Edward was there, tucking the covers around her. "How are you feeling, Bella?" he asked softly.

"Probably like I look," she said softly. Her stomach churned evilly and she started to sit up. Before she'd even made it to an upright position Edward had picked her up and carried her to the bathroom. He held her hair while she was sick and spoke softly, murmuring nonsense to make her feel better. That was the thing she loved about him; he was always so _nice_. It wasn't his fault he was a vampire and had to drink blood. It wasn't like he was a bad person – in fact, the girls seemed to fall over him when he entered a room. He'd rejected so many girls, but he was so nice that nobody could dislike him.

When she felt like her stomach wasn't trying to become a washing machine, Edward helped her back into bed and stayed with her, holding her and keeping his hand on her forehead when her temperature climbed. She loved having friends like him.

Charlie came home at around five that night, early for him. When he saw Edward in the chair in Bella's room, he smiled. "How's she doing?" he whispered.

"Better, I believe. She had a temperature earlier, but she'd doing alright now. I'm sure that, once she rests, she'll be fine for school tomorrow."

"That soon, huh?" Charlie nodded. If Edward said it, he believed it, if only for the reason that he didn't think the kid would lie about something so simple.

"Yes. If you don't mind, I'd like to stay a little bit longer. She seems to sleep better when there's someone there when she starts mumbling."

Charlie nodded. "Sure, if you want."

Bella woke up late the next morning slowly. No, she didn't feel like she would have to run for cover, or more precisely, the bathroom. She did feel hungry as a pod of whales, though, so she sat up. Poor Edward had left that night after hearing of a fight between Rosalie and Emmett. She muttered about temperamental vampire females and went downstairs for food. It was then that she remembered that Jake hadn't called after he got home. What if he'd gotten the flu as well? He could be seriously sick and want someone to help him like she'd needed Edward. She rushed to the phone and called Jake's number, then waited. It was on the fourth ring when someone picked up.

"Hello?" It was Billy's voice on the other side. Where was Jacob? He almost always picked up.

"Hey, Billy, it's Bella. Jake was supposed to call me after he got home. Is he alright?"

There was a tense pause on the other line. "Uh... he's sick right now. Sorry." The phone clicked and the tone rang; he'd hung up!

_How rude_, was her first thought. _Strange_, she thought next. Billy liked her pretty well, so for him to act like that... She tried to shrug it off and not worry too much. Jake had probably caught the bug too, and Billy was just anxious around sick kids. She'd give Jake some time before she started to become Nanny Bella the Nagger.

**10 days 2 hours and 37 minutes**

Jake still hadn't called.


	3. Chapter Two: Time Does Not Fly By

Chapter Two: Time Does Not Fly By

**12 days 16 hours 3 minutes **

By now it was Edward and Alice's top priority to keep her busy, so she didn't start thinking about the fact that she hadn't seen her best friend in twelve days. More than that, he hadn't bothered to call or even send a letter through Billy when he'd come over. She'd stopped trying to call that morning when Billy had finally said that Jake didn't want to talk to her. She felt like she had a gaping hole in her chest. She knew she had other friends, but Jake was... her Jake. He was Obama to her Michelle, Batman to her Catwoman; they were a team, a dynamic duo. So why wasn't he calling?

**13 days 3 hours 55 minutes**

Renee had stopped mentioning Jake in her emails, Charlie had started to become upset with Billy and Bella had started to think that maybe she meant nothing to Jake. She felt like the hole in her chest had become one massive, aching spot where her heart had been ripped out and stomped on. She was too worried to cry, to alone to talk.

**14 days 1 hour 32 minutes**

Bella got the picture; Jake didn't want her. She dealt with the fact that her friend had disappeared from the face of her earth two weeks ago by keeping herself busy. Edward and Alice were grateful she'd come out of her mope, if not completely, then partially, at least, and helped her by keeping her entertained. It wasn't hard, with Alice, because she just simply was a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day.

She made dinner that night for Charlie, who was ecstatic after eating cardboard pizzas and take out for two weeks. Edward was flopped gracefully (how could someone flop gracefully? She couldn't even manage to _walk_ gracefully, let alone _flop_ as such. Damn vampires) on the couch, watching The Vampire Diaries. The irony was _not_ lost on her. She made steak for Charlie, but couldn't get down more than steak. Charlie seemed to eat like it was the first food he'd had in weeks. She laughed softly, and both men looked shocked. She rolled her eyes and continued to cut her carrots up neatly before eating them. Charlie sat back, full. She smiled and picked up his plate, Edward carrying his glass out to the kitchen. She saw his quick glance towards the plate Charlie had used and she saw that it still had the blood that had dripped off the steak. She handed it to him and smiled a little. "Go ahead." He beamed gratefully and tipped the plate to his lips. Somehow he managed to not get a single drop on him. Nothing on his white shirt. _Damn vampires_, she muttered in her head without any real anger. For the umpteenth time she wished that Jacob were here too joke about their manners...

At the thought of her Jake she cringed. She'd managed to go a few hours without him in her head. The wound where her heart had been throbbed and ached sharply. She bit her lip and pushed memories of them talking about how perfect the Cullens seemed to be. She wanted her Jacob back so bad she nearly went to the phone again. But he wouldn't pick up, and she knew it. A single tear fell down her cheek and she swept it away.

**18 days 23 hours 12 minutes**

That was it. She was insane. Every sound she heard she expected to be Jacob coming towards her shaking his head and saying she worried too much. Every movement out of the corner of her eye was Jake wrapping her in one of his tight hugs and saying he'd had some kind of serious illness or injury but he was okay now. It got to the point where he was the first thing she thought about in the morning and the last thing she thought about at night when she cried herself to sleep.

She'd had it. She started her beat-up, run-down truck that had rust on the bottom edges and drove to La Push. When she got to Jake's house she noticed movement in the window and saw Billy's face. She smiled a little and waved. He moved his head out of the window, eyes narrowed. _What __**is **__it with the Black's lately? _she thought disbelievingly. She got out a pen and the back of her calculus test and started to write on it in her scrawling handwriting. She was two sentences in when a tap sounded on her window. She expected it to be Billy; it was Jake. Only he'd changed so much! She stared, taking in how much he'd grown. In a matter of two weeks he'd grown five inches, which didn't seem a lot, but at 6'2'' there wasn't that much growing to be done... or so she'd thought. He now towered over her truck at 6'7'', but it wasn't just his height.

His shoulders had gotten wider, his neck thicker, his arms had huge muscles on them, his hands dwarfed the windowsill of her car and the veins and tendons stood out along his arms and the backs of his hands. His chest was huge now, not just bigger but muscled as well, tapering down to his waist and then continuing on legs that weren't skinny any more but strong and _long_. This wasn't the normal teenage boy she'd seen two weeks ago. Jake now resembled more of a fully grown man than a 16-year-old boy.

Then she noticed his hair. The beautiful long hair had been chopped off so that it covered his head like windswept black satin. Movement over his shoulder caught her eye, and she saw the four other men-sized boys coming out of the woods. Three of them looked over her with a look that said she clearly wasn't welcome, but Sam Uley just calmly observed her face and decided something in his head. The three other boys were ones Jacob had mentioned before: Paul, Jared and Jake's friend Embry. She looked back at Jake, who was just starting to meet her gaze.

"What are you – doing – here, Bella?" His voice trailed off at the end and he was staring at her in wonderment. Like a blind man seeing the sun for the first time.

"Oh shit," Paul muttered.


	4. Chapter Three: Thousand Threads

Chapter Three: Thousand Threads

"Oh shit," Paul muttered.

Jake never heard. He stared at Bella, feeling as if everything that had ever mattered dissolved. The strings that held him attached to this world snapped free of their holdings and raced towards this one girl. He felt the thousand threads root into her soul and anchor him. It was like a blind man seeing the sun for the first time, or being born again, finding something to live for. Something took place inside of him, something impossibly strong and all too real. It was scary and lifting at the same time. The dirt under his feet shifted, became quicksand that seemed to ebb and flow like a tide, then solidified again. The background blurred, then everything came into intensely sharp focus, like high definition. He could see her eyes were not only deep, molten chocolate but had slight freckles of black in them, her hair had reddish highlights in it, her skin was perfectly soft.

Bella waved her hand in front of his face. The wounded look she'd had had changed into worry for him. "Jake? What's wrong?" He blinked and shook his head, but he couldn't keep his eyes off her. _What was happening_? All he knew was that suddenly his best friend had become… everything. It clicked then. He'd imprinted. He'd found the one person in his life who made up the half that he hadn't known had been missing.

"Bella," he breathed. He opened up the car door and took her hand (he'd never realized how small it was! Or was his just that much bigger now?) in his carefully and helped her out of the truck. The look that said, "how could you?" came back to her face and she pulled her hand out of his, tucking it behind her back. Unexpected hurt rang through him, a feeling of rejection he hadn't even known could be caused by something that simple.

She must've seen it, because she automatically took his hand back in both of hers, holding tight. "Jake? It's okay. Look," she said, rubbing her thumbs along that back of his hand. Jake realized that even though she'd looked so broken when she'd arrived, she was now trying to comfort _him_. The thought made him beam. That was his Bella. With a flick of his wrist he pulled her to him and hugged her tight, just happy that she was near him. He buried his face in her hair when she wrapped her arms around him, holding him as if he might break. He felt something melt in his heart and he held her tighter, lifting her off the ground to give her one of his bear hugs. She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck, all of the tension leaving her body.

He heard Sam clear his throat and she tensed again. He set her down and looked back at the group of men-boys that stood on the porch. Most of them were trying to look tough; by the look on Bella's face, they'd succeeded in scaring her. He growled at all but Sam (who just looked calm, as usual) soft enough for her hearing to miss it but loud enough for them to catch the drift. Bella looked at them as well and seemed to… shrink behind him. He had to admit it was cute, but it angered him that they were doing this to her. He growled again and Sam motioned with his head to bring her forward.

"What's wrong with those guys, Jake?" Bella tried to whisper soft enough so they wouldn't hear, but she couldn't have any idea of how strong their ears were.

"It's okay, Bella. No one is ever going to hurt you anymore." He looked into her eyes so she knew that he'd hurt her. She smiled the slightest bit and he kissed the top of her head. It was her turn to look astonished. Grinning, he pulled her hand towards the deck where the group was waiting.

"Jake, are you alright?" He answered of course he was, but she glared at Sam. "Have you been doing drugs or something?"

He laughed. Where did she come up with these things? "No, Bells. I haven't been doing drugs. Will you stop?" He couldn't help but laugh. She looked up at him with a startled expression.

"Stop what?"

"If you glare at poor Sam any harder you'll put holes through him."

Bella blushed a dark pink and Jake laughed harder. Poor Bella. She was completely in the dark. Had she worried? By the look on her face when she'd gotten there, she must've been worried the entire time. He'd have to talk to that blood-sucker to figure out what had happened while he'd been… occupied.

"Can… can I talk to you alone, Jake?" she looked hesitant, not quite sure of herself. Something throbbed in his chest, ached for what she must've thought he felt towards her to not call at all.

His voice gentle, he squeezed her hand lightly for a moment. "Sure, Bella." He looked towards the group, then the ground, his eyebrow arched, knowing Sam would interpret that as, 'Will you stay?' Sam nodded. With that, Jacob started towards the woods, holding her hand in an effort to keep her from falling too much. He'd slowed his stride to her much slower one, but even still it wasn't even two minutes into the trees when she asked to stop, for fear of getting lost. He kept the laugh to himself. _As if he could get lost anymore_.

Carefully seating her on a log and making sure she wouldn't fall, he waited for her to speak. She seemed even more hesitant now, wringing her hands together and looking at the ground. "Jake… what happened? Why didn't you call? You were gone for nearly three weeks, and you never even asked Billy to say that you were alright. I thought that you might've–"

He cut her off by pulling her into his arms, holding her close.

"I'm so sorry." His voice was hoarse as tears pricked his eyes. An idea struck him, and he set her down, brushing at the tears that left tracks down her cheeks. "Wait here for just a moment, okay? I have to ask Sam something." She nodded, sniffling, and he raced towards the house. When he was just out of her line of view he struggled to yank his clothes off and store them in the hollow of a tree. Shifting as he ran, he felt the enormous power surge through him. He was strong in his human form, but when he became a wolf… it was wonderful. He felt massive, powerful, invincible. There was nothing like it. Bella had asked him if he'd been doing drugs. Not the illegal kind, but the rush of power was like a high in itself, it made him that giddy at first. Now he could control it, shift at will. It'd taken him those three weeks to not spontaneously burst out of his skin and clothes. Twice he'd nearly killed his dad by getting upset.

Now, as he raced through the trees he knew he had to tell her the truth. If she was really his 'imprintee' as the pack liked to say, then she had every right to know about him. As he broke free of the tree line the men spotted him and didn't even blink as he phased back into his human form without a stitch on. "She's it, Sam. You know she is. You felt it when I saw her. Can I tell her?"

Sam sighed and paused to think. It was obvious that the girl was Jacob's imprint, and Sam knew how hard it was to keep that kind of secret from her... and how dangerous it was. "If the pack doesn't object, it's fine with me."

Jake looked eagerly at the grinning faces. Jake knew exactly how much they were going to tease him for looking like a love-sick puppy, but he didn't care. All that mattered was getting back to Bella. The boys laughed and nodded. "Fine, fine, spill the secret to the pretty girl," one of them-probably Embry- said. The others just jibed him, but he didn't pay attention. Without a thought he turned and was a sprinting as fast as he could towards Bella. He got to the tree that smelled like him and skidded to a halt, pulling on shorts and shoes and dragging his shirt over his head when he entered the small clearing where Bella was still sitting, looking more than a little lost and bewildered. Not for the first time he felt guilty about leaving her for three weeks to think that something terrible had happened to him—to them.

He walked forward slowly and took her hands again. "Okay," he let out a breath and tried to find the best way to tell her. Damned if he didn't feel like some nut about to profess undying love or something as silly as that. Why was he so nervous? Oh yeah, he thought quickly. If she learned and freaked, he was screwed for the rest of his life to have no mate. Lovely. "Okay, here's the thing, um, I'm not _exactly_ myself anymore. I mean, I'm still _Jacob_, but part of me has changed." He felt like a bumbling idiot, trying to tell her in a way that would make her _not_ freak out. Well, uh… hmm…" he couldn't think of a way to say it other than, 'hey baby, I really _am_ a dog sometimes,' so he figured he should just deal with it now. _Please don't let her think I'm a monster_, he pleaded in his head and jumped in head first. "Bella, I'm a werewolf."

Jake waited for agonizing seconds before she nodded – and promptly slid to the ground. He caught her before she could hit the dirt and sat down on the upturned tree with her in his lap, pushing the hair out of her pale face and holding her tightly. It took several moments of her sitting absolutely still before he finally heard her speaking.

"So you're a werewolf, huh?" She almost sounded… amused? Then he knew she was either that or hysterical, because she was chuckling. But didn't crazy people cackle or laugh maniacally?

"Yeah," he said softly, gathering her closer against his chest. "I'm sorry if I scared you. I thought I should just tell you now, rather than later, and I couldn't think of a good way to say it, so I just sort of–" he knew he was rambling, trying to convince her that he wasn't some evil, howling-at-the-moon, eat-people-for-breakfast, Hollywood wolf/man. He cut off when she started giggling. Bella. Giggling. He knew she'd gone into the loony bin. She might laugh until she cried if you tickled her, but Bella. Giggle. Never happened. But here she was, trying to stifle _giggles_ against his chest.

"Do you realize," she said in between soft hiccup-ish noises, "that when you're nervous you don't speak at all, and then you speak too much. I've never seen you like this. Did you think I'd scream and run, Jake?" Finally she lifted her head and her face was inches from his, her eyes dancing with humor and life again. Jacob let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and smiled.

"Yeah, well, it's not every day you tell a girl you really _are_ a dog," he joked, and sent her into another fit of giggles. After the initial shock, he decided he really like them. They showed the soft side she tried to hide so often behind her I-can-handle-the-world attitude.

"Jake, you should've seen your face," she said, tears of laughter rolling down her face. "You looked like some poor shmuck getting ready to profess undying love!"

He winced just the slightest, knowing that sometime or later he'd have to tell her what went along with being a werewolf. Until then, though, he'd be just friends. If he had to, he'd wait forever for her.

"Jake, what's wrong?" Bella reached out to run her fingers along the line that had formed along his brow down to the lips that stiffened when he worried. Jacob sighed, berating himself. He should've known she was perceptive enough to know when something bothered him. He also knew that if he lied, she'd know and worry it over and most likely come to the wrong conclusion that she'd done something wrong.

"Bells, there are things that come with being a werewolf. I don't… I don't want to go over them now, because they'll probably be better explained at the bonfire the pack is having tonight. Can you make it? I know it's short notice, but—"

"Jake. Breathe. Yes, I'll be there. Stop thinking I'm going to change my mind. I'm here for you." She smiled softly, taking his large hand between her tiny, fragile ones. He looked down and noted the differences. Big and small, strong and so incredibly breakable, dark and pale as mountain snow in the sunlight. But he knew that for all the soft and fragile looks she had, his Bella had a core of iron. She'd be there for him. The smile that lit up his face caught her pensive look and made her beam, too. He couldn't suppress the surge of joy he felt and before he could think he'd scooped her up and was holding her tight against his chest.

"Thank you, Bella."

She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck again. "Any time, Jake."


	5. Chapter Four: Seaside Mutts

Chapter Four: Seaside Mutts

Bella paced back and forth, slowly creating a path in the floor. "What if they don't like me?" she asked nervously. "They certainly didn't look like it when I got there. Only Sam looked like I wasn't road kill."

She swore she heard something like 'or about to _become_ road kill' from Edward or Alice. It was too soft to really know for sure, but she turned to them. "What?" They gave her innocent stares. "Oh, no. Don't give me that. I heard that, thank you very much. Why would you say that?" She looked from one to the other, and she realized it. "You know about them, don't you? That would make sense, you were there. Of course you'd know." She was speaking more to herself now, pacing again. "Why don't you like them?" she turned towards them again.

Alice grimaced. "You may not smell it with your human nose, but Bella, they _stink_. Like wet dog, stink." She shuddered. "It's horrible."

Bella rolled her eyes, then looked at Edward. "I can't imagine you complaining over a smell, after all the trouble you've gone through to not eat me," she said simply, as if talking about the threat of dying didn't bother her at all. Not that it really did, in the whole scheme of things. Bella didn't really fear death.

Edward looked pained, then shrugged. He looked at Alice, who shrugged as well. It was Alice who answered. "When you went over to the reservation, I stopped being able to see you. Do you know what that means, Bella?" She shook her head. "It means that your life and one of those do—" she cut off at Bella's glare and continued more politely, "werewolves is part of your life now."

Bella nodded immediately. "Of course. Jacob's one of my best friends, just like you two are. Why wouldn't he be part of it?"

"Because he's a _werewolf_?" Edward suggested.

She rolled her eyes again. "And you're a vampire. Should I avoid you?" He looked sad. The things he'd said when they'd met came back. "We've had this discussion. No. Stop that." Bella gave him a hug. "You're too hard on yourself. Now, why would this whole werewolf thing bother you?"

Alice thought about it for a long few moments. "Bella, if I can't see your future, that means something a little more serious than what you think it does. I'm not talking about you and dog-boy—"

"Jacob," Bella interrupted.

"Jacob," the pixie girl amended, "simply talking every once in a while. I mean _every day_ sort of thing. Like—" Edward cut her off this time with a look and something that was probably said too fast for Bella to hear. The human shook her head. Things were being left out, as usual. Damn vampires. Alice looked guilty, though, and would have turned pink if she had the physical capability of doing so. This amazed Bella. What could she have been about to say that would have granted that look? Bella shrugged this time; some things were best just left alone. "Well," Alice said smoothly, "you get what I mean." Bella nodded. Once again, nothing new. Jake was… her Jake. Of course he'd be part of her life.

When she went over to La Push later she wore her hair down, too lazy to put it up. It kept getting in her face so she pushed it back, worrying about the same things. Would they stop being angry at her? Would Jake still want her there? What if something wolf-ish happened again and he couldn't see her for a long time? What was the huge thing he was so nervous to tell her? What was she supposed to learn tonight? These thoughts kept whirling around in her head until she pulled up and saw Jake already opening the door with that special smile on his face.

Jake ran out to open the door for her, moving faster than any human could. She looked so pretty, he thought, and turned a slight pink at thinking something like that. It was true, though. Her hair looked like she'd run her fingers through it on the way there repeatedly, so it had a tossed look. When she smiled up at him his heart thumped against his ribs and he took her hand. "Hey, Bells," he said with as normal a voice as he could find.

"Hi, Jake. Where to?" He was surprised when she left her hand in his as if it was normal. He'd never done anything like that before the change, but now it just seemed… right. _She must feel it, too_, he thought, hoping. _Why else would she not even notice or care about holding hands_? Then he laughed softly at his thoughts. What was he, an old woman now? He shook his head at her arched brow and started towards the shoreline.

"Just the beach. Easier to build a really big fire there. Plus, Emily likes it there."

"Emily?" she asked, wondering who this mystery woman was.

"Sam's fiancé. It's really funny. When he's with the pack, he's this leader that's always sure, but with her, he becomes putty. It's hilarious. He loves her so much, he'd do anything for her."

She got a dreamy look, another odd look for her. "That sounds so sweet," she said softly.

Jake nodded. "It is, especially after the… accident." His soft look sobered as he almost slipped up.

"Accident?" He should have known she'd catch it.

"There can be accidents when we first become werewolves. If we get really upset, angry or scared we just… burst. Phasing is hard to control when we're like that, so sometimes people can slip up. Sam didn't have anybody to help him, so he didn't know. When he-" he paused, almost admitting the imprint thing he wanted to wait for. "When he got excited one time, he was too close to Emily. She got… hurt. Not fatally, or anything, but… just don't mention it to Sam, okay?" He looked pleadingly at her.

Bella nodded and her thumb rubbed the back of his hand, though she didn't seem to realize she did it. "Okay, Jake. Don't worry about it. I'm just happy there's going to be another girl. The thought of being the only one…" she gave a fake shudder that made him laugh. Leave it to Bella to cheer him up. "So what am I supposed to be looking for?"

Jake thought about it, then shrugged. If she looked for anything specific, she might miss an important detail. "Nothing in particular. Just… be your normal amazingly observant self." She blushed at the compliment and made Jake laugh again.

The pack was all gathered when Bella and Jacob arrived, making them the last ones to arrive, much to Bella's horror. Instantly all eyes riveted on the small frame that was Bella next to the mammoth that was commonly known as Jake. They took in the way she nervously stayed slightly behind him and the way he shielded her by putting his shoulder between the group and her. He stared all but Sam and Emily down, making sure the men knew not to pick on her. Not that he really thought they would, but it didn't hurt to be careful. They actually listened, introducing themselves to Bella one at a time and making her feel right at home. By the time Jake sat down with Bella sitting next to him, she was smiling. Of course, it didn't hurt that he'd sat right next to Sam and Emily so she'd have a girl to talk to.  
Jake also wanted her to see how Sam and Emily acted. Maybe she'd realize that the look Sam gave his love was the same Jake gave her. It was so hard to not tell her, but he knew it was too soon. For a little while Bella'd need to figure the whole imprint thing on her own.

Bella looked around at the strange group of people. So many different personalities, ranging from Sam's calm and leading presence-it was obvious that he was the pack leader- to Paul's hotheaded temper. Then here was Emily, who she'd instantly come to like because of her acceptance and her very real pleasure to meet Bella. It wasn't until she hugged Jake that Bella noticed he scars that ran down the side of Emily's face. So that's what Jake had meant. It was obvious that Sam couldn't quite forgive himself for causing them, because of the way he kissed them and ran his finger down them. She didn't seem to mind at all, just smiled and kissed him. It was plain within minutes of meeting them that the two were completely and utterly in love. Bella loved seeing that and turned to tell Jake so, only to see him already looking at her. She beamed and laughed at the happy puppy look he gave her.

"Come on," he said, pulling her up. "Let's go for walk."

"Don't go swimming," Emily warned. "The tide is too strong tonight."

Jake smiled and kissed her cheek. "Yes, Mom." there was no needling in those words. It was as if she really was the pack mom. In a way, Bella thought she was. She'd already taken Bella under her wing, so she'd doubtlessly done the same for the boys around the fire. Bella really liked Emily. We was just so... sweet and kind and... mother-ish.

Jake pulled her forward gently. She noticed he was always soft with her, as if worried that he'd break her or hurt her somehow. It was nice to be treated like something (or someone) precious. When they reached the rocks he picked her up and made the jump that spanned close to ten feet like it was nothing. Her heart hammering in her throat, she couldn't stop the nervous laugh that bubbled through her bloodstream like wine. It was exhilarating! Scary, but thrilling. When he set her down she was still smiling.

"What do you think of them?" he asked softly, taking her hand. She liked that he did that for some reason.

"They're wonderful!" she said excitedly. "And so different. Oh, and Emily! She's... wonderful. And it's clear as daylight that Sam's head over heals for her. It's so... sweet doesn't seem right. Just wonderful. So that's the pack?" she turned to look at him.

Jake nodded. "Yep, our odd group of mutts. Cool, huh?" he asked, grinning.

Bella's head bobbed eagerly. "They're-"

"Wonderful," Jake supplied, making her laugh again.

"Yes. Yes, wonderful is the right word." A thought raced across her expressive face. "Jake, why aren't there any other girls there? Emily doesn't seem to be a werewolf, is she?"

Jake shook his head. He should've known she would pick up on that. Was it too soon to tell her? "No, she's not."  
"Then why is she here, but no other girls besides me?" Jake really wished that at the moment she wasn't so damned observant. He wasn't really sure why, because this was what he'd hoped she would realize, but now that the moment was at hand he cursed himself and her supernatural eye for the teeniest details.  
"Because only..." he made himself look at her, "Only pack mates are allowed to come."  
"But Emily isn't wolf, and I'm not. Jake," she whispered, taking his face in her hands and looking him in the eyes solidly, "tell me what it is. What is it that's got you so worried and is so obviously important?"  
Jake swallowed and kept his eyes on hers. "In Quileute legend, when the werewolf meets his destined mate, he 'imprints' on her. Everything that meant something disappears and the only thing that matters anymore is that one person. It means that he found his mate... for life."  
He could see her processing he information. "Okay, so Sam imprinted on Emily."  
He looked shocked, then couldn't help but start laughing. For someone who was so observant, she was completely oblivious to matters that were about her. "Bella, you don't get it?" She looked at him expectantly. "Bells, I'm trying to tell you that I imprinted on you. Today, earlier, when you came to my house, and I saw you... it was like... thousand of tiny threads pulling me to you. It just sort of happened all the sudden, but I don't expect any sort of.. of... I don't know." He raked a hand through his hair with his free hand, the one that wasn't holding hers again the slightest bit tightly. "Please say something," he begged, wanted her to give him some sort of response.  
The entire time she'd been silent. He was starting to wonder if she was going to collapse again when she finally spoke.  
"So that's what made you so nervous earlier in the woods. No wonder you looked like some poor man about to propose." She smiled a little, but sobered after just a moment. "Jake, what does this mean... for us, exactly?"  
He shook his head. "I'm not really sure, Bells." That wasn't the entire truth, but for some reason he thought another girl might be able to explain it better. "Bella, I won't pressure you. I don't expect you to jump into something like this with me right away. I just - I thought... this involves you, so you should know." God, how lame did that sound? Jacob was so busy berating himself that he didn't see the strange look she gave him.

"Jake," she said it so softly he _had_ to look at her. "What does this mean?" Each word was soft, but carried so much emotion that he had to answer her; it would be impossible not to.

"Bella…" he looked down at their hands, then met her eyes again. "It means that you're it for me. You're my mate. I'll always have this… compulsion to be around you. If I don't…" he couldn't imagine not being around her. He swallowed. He knew what it would be like; he'd seen Sam after just a few days of not seeing his imprint. The man had looked half crazy and ready to turn on anyone, which was far different from his usual serene self. It was agonizing, an actual pain, fighting the body to return back to her side. Jake never wanted to go through that.

Bella watched his face as he thought of something she knew she couldn't understand. While he wasn't completely expressive, he gave away just enough for her to be able to tell that whatever happened, it was horrific. Bella had a brief moment to doubt whether she and Jake could have a relationship like that, but then a thought came to her. Over the past three weeks she'd become zombie-like, not really living. During the day she would go through the motions, but nothing meant anything. At night she would cry herself to sleep and dream of being with her Jacob. Wasn't that what he was talking about?

And what about now? Now… she couldn't imagine a time without Jake. Something had changed between them, she understood that completely. She knew instinctively that they would always be friends, but now there was something more to them. She felt what Jake had told her about earlier – there were thousands of threads linking them together. She didn't know if it was heart to heart or if it went deeper than that, but she knew that there was something between them now that tied them together in a way that nothing could destroy.

Something started deep in her, growing and growing until she couldn't hold it back. One second her face was pensive, the next she laughed and a smile lit her face that held so much happiness that it spread along their link from her to him. "Jake, how do you think I felt when you were gone? Do you think that this could be just on your side?" She looked him square in the eye with all of the elation and determination she felt. "I don't know how we go from here, but I know that we're in this together, Jake."

Jake whooped and picked her up, spinning her around. "Are you sure?" he said suddenly, looking worried.

"Just you try to get rid of me, Jacob Black." She grinned, making him laugh and lift her up so she could spread her arms as he spun them around again.


	6. Chapter Five: Rusty Hinges

Chapter Five:

The next few weeks life went by in a flash. Her days at school were interesting, to say the least. The Cullens were not exactly thrilled to hear that she was dating a dog. However, when she and Edward got into a fight (something that never happened) she yelled that she and Jake had imprinted and he, Alice and Jasper stopped moving. "Oh," he said, taken aback. "Well, that changes things."

Bella, thinking he meant it changed whether or not they could be friends, instantly went into panic mode. "It doesn't mean I can't be with you guys! Just because Jake and I are-"  
She broke off when he started laughing. "Bella, you're being silly again. What I meant when I said 'it changes things' is that you and Dog-boy are meant to be together, something that cannot be changed." He sighed. "I suppose we'll just have to get used to the smell of wet mutt." Bella shrieked in delight and jumped up to hug him.  
"You're not upset?"  
"Of course not. It's not as if you had any choice in the matter. Anyhow, there's nothing we can do to negate it, nor would we if we could, because it makes you happy." Edward smiled at her. "Were friends, Isabella Swan. Nothing will change that."

Charlie, however, was not so forgiving. When Jake came over for the first time since he'd become a werewolf, Charlie demanded a talk. Alone. Bella was reluctant, noting the look in his eye. "Dad," she warned.  
He looked down at her and ruffled her hair. "Just for a little bit, Bella. I promise I won't get the rifle." With one last warning look, Bella walked out of the room, leaving the two men alone to 'chat.'  
"The next time you hurt her, I will get that gun, understand?" The boy nodded, making Charlie pause. Damn, it was impossible to not like this boy. After all, he'd known him since he as born, he knew what Jacob was like. Charlie may not understand what had happened between the two to cause such a dramatic change, but he could see the way Jacob looked at his daughter. The boy was head over heals and both knew it. What surprised him even more was the way that she looked at him. Charlie sighed, feeling old. "Just so you know," he said awkwardly. Talk done, he patted Jake's shoulder. He decided that right about then would be a good time to go and watch a game or something with Billy. Too strange, having his daughter and friend's son together like that. Made him feel old.  
Jake walked up the stairs to her room, where Bella sat on her bed cross-legged with a book on the cover spread. When he entered the room she jumped up and inspected him for damage. She could find none, so she looked up at him. "Was everything ok? What did he say?"  
Jake smiled and pulled her back to the bed, stretching out besides her and propping his head up win his arm so he could just look down at her. "Nothing happened, Bells. He jut gave me the 'this is my daughter your dealing with' kind of thing." He purposely left out that Charlie had given him the small chat about what had happened to her while he had left her alone, but she didn't need to know that anyway.  
The relief on her face was sweet. "I'm glad. Charlie has a tendency to do the whole by, tough dad thing and intimidate people. You should have seen Mike's face when he tried to ask me out when I first moved here!" She half laughed, half cackled. "He was so scared he's never tried since."  
Jake grinned down at her, leaning close conspiringly. "I'm sure I'll be fine with your dad. I'm a bit bigger than he is." He dropped his voice down to a deep whisper. "Plus I know that he secretly likes me better than Mike. But we won't let him know that we know, okay?" Bella giggled, and this close he could see how her eyes sparkled and danced when she did so. A wave washed over him, and while had felt this sort of desire for her, never before had it been this strong. He had a moment to think 'What brought this on?' before his hand cupped the side of her face softly and he lay his lips against hers.  
Bella wasn't prepared for the onslaught of emotions and sensations that rushed through her like fireworks. Sure, she'd been kissed once or twice, but nothing could have predicted the burst of colors that zinged through her system. She never thought twice. Her arms wrapped around him and pulled him closer, as if there couldn't be any air between them. She felt Jake make a low note in his throat as he rolled over her, arms supporting his enormous weight from crushing her delicate frame. Bella's fingers tangled in his hair as desire poured through them both. Given their age, one would think it was just teenage lust, but this was something deeper, more primal and as old as time, something only another pack mate could know. The need between mates to claim each other, share the same skin and be together was too strong to ever be denied, and the first time was special. The first time was where the souls recognized each other fully and fused to become one. After that, nothing can break the two souls apart, not even death.

Jake opened his mouth on hers, his tongue sliding across the seam of her lips. With a gasp, she opened her mouth to his and met him boldly. The low rumbling vibrated through them both as his tongue stroked hers in a dark game.  
Her hands moved, making quick work of shedding his clothes. Neither knew how wild they were, not caring. Bella ripped seams as she tugged his shirt off, barely taking a moment to raise her head before returning savagely to his mouth. Next were his pants, harder to shed. Her fine gets blindly, but deftly, undid the button and yanked at the zipper. The instant she had it down her hands slid into his pants, stroking and cupping erotically. With a muffled curse and a half laugh Jake sunk his head into the crook of her shoulder. "Jesus, Bella. You're killing me." His hips bucked wildly against her hands and he rolled them so she was on top to pin her hands, before she could do any real damage. He hadn't thought the feel of her on top could arouse him any more, but he cursed again as the feel of her pressed against him made him harden even more. "Do you like the shirt?" he half growled at her.  
She huffed an amused breath at his odd question. "No more than any of my other ones. Care to do something about it?" He grinned wolfishly at her before his hands came up- and ripped the shirt down he middle. She didn't know why, but that triggered something untamed in her that set upon him, kissing him so hotly he growled. Her hands roamed down, playing in spots that made him groan and sliding over planes that made him sigh. When she kissed her way down his washboard abs he growled and yanked her mouth up to his as his tongue sought hers again. With one hand he flicked the catch of her bra and threw it somewhere in the room, and before it had fallen to the ground he was wrestling with her jeans. "God, do they make these so damned hard to strip on purpose?" Caught between laughter and unrelenting desire he rested his head on her stomach and chuckled hoarsely. "Bells, help me out here. If we don't get these off in the next minute, I'm going to die. Spontaneously combust or... something." Bella laughed wickedly as she stood up slowly, watching his eyes blaze like a midnight sun as she hooked her thumbs in the seems and slowly pulled down, taking panties with them. She watched as his breath became ragged and labored, the bulge in the front of his jeans growing. She had a moment of doubt, perversely, before she looked back into his eyes.  
Jake saw the sudden hesitation in her chocolate eyes and held out his hand, gentle. He'd forgotten in their sudden wave of madness that neither of them had been to this point before; more importantly, this was their first time together. As much brazen vixen as she'd been before, she now looked nervous. "Bella," he whispered, holding her eyes with his and dropping his tone to a soothing, deep bass. "Come here. We don't have to, but I want you to want this. I need you to need me too." When she stood still, he stood, slowly and easily moving to stand right before her. The only part he touched now was her hand as he picked it up and kissed the back, her knuckles, the tips of her fingers. "Bella," he soothed. "Love me back." This seemed the right thing to say, as a smile lit her face and she met him halfway, fingers sinking into the waistband of his pants and curling as his tongue played with hers, not roughly but softly, reverently. When he couldn't stand still any longer he bent down to scoop her into his arms, laying her gently down onto the bed. Stripping his jeans, he watched her gaze dart to his aching member and then back up to his face, turning a deep shade of red. Even though he knew it wasn't funny in the least, he couldn't help but laugh. "Bells, you nearly destroyed me not two minutes ago by playing me like an Olympic champion, and now that you get to see what you've caused your blushing?"  
She squirmed uncomfortably and he lay next to her, pulling her head up to meet his. "Isabella, you are..." he couldn't think of he right word. "Perfect. Just... perfect. Come here," he took her hand in his, but she tensed web she saw where they were going. "Bella. Breathe. I'm not going to hurt you." She nodded after a few silent moments and he had to bite his lip to keep from hissing in pleasure when she touched him where he needed her the most. It only took a few seconds for her curiosity to kick in, and he lowered his head with a harsh groan when her fingers discovered thousands of pleasure spots without even trying. He thought he'd burst out of his skin if he got any harder, but it wasn't until she finally noticed his muscles were locked and straining that she stopped.  
"Jake?" she asked worriedly.  
He answered her with a kiss that curled her foes and left no doings as to what the tenseness had been about. Jake propped himself up, staring down at her heatedly until she turned pink again. "Hah, Bella," he sighed. "we're going to have to do something about this shyness. After all, we are mates." He had an idea that was brilliant. Taking her arms, he pulled her up enough so he could kiss he'd, then rolled her over so she was laying facedown. She made a squeak of indignity, but he tugged her hair. "Trust me, honey. I won't hurt you." Sitting to the side, he began by ribbing her ears, something she'd always loved for him to do. When all the tension had drained from her he started on her neck, moving to her shoulders and moving down, then back up and over her arms, her scalp, down to her derrière. She made a noise, but quieted under his hands. He worked his way down to her toes, which he discovered were ticklish, before he turned her over. Her eyes were soft, slumberous, sexy.  
Jake started by kissing her tenderly, running his hands up her arms to give her goose bumps, then down her sides. It wasn't long until she was clutching his back and kissing back hungrily. His palms molded her breasts, playfully tugging, rolling the peaks between his large fingers and rubbing, causing her head to loll back and a moan to escape her swollen lips. He moved down, kissing his way to where his hands had just been, and she arched her back in invitation. Jake's hands continued downward, parting her knees and massaging the insides of her pale thighs and rubbing his thugs gradually upward, causing another ripping moan to vibrate through her and into him. Lips moved downward, dipping into her bellybutton as his thumb swept up and down her clit. A hoarse sound echoed in he bedroom as Bella's hands became entangled in his silky black hair and her hips arched off the bed. His thumbs stroked again, back and forth, and her head whipped from side to side on her pillow. "Jake," she said breathlessly, making him grin. He was just getting started. While he continued to play with his fingers, quickening and then slowing, rough, then softly, he kissed his way to her breasts. Taking one peak into his mouth he sucked while circling her sensitive nub quickly. Bella came apart in his arms, crying out and wrapping her arms and legs around him tightly. "Jake, please!" Her hoarse cry encouraged him to sink one finger into her creamy heat, to her gasp of delight.  
"Christ, Bella," he groaned, playing with her instinctively. A second finger stretched her, and she came a second time. She was gasping now, her body flushed and she looked so beautiful he couldn't wait longer. Traveling up her body, he took her lips with his own and put as much love, desire and tenderness he had for her into his kiss. She met him every step of the way and arched her hips, pressing against his and wringing a moan from him. "Isabella, look at me." Those blazing eyes met his and she took his face in between her hands. "I love you, Bella." He surged forward, breaking her barrier as smoothly as possible and stopping when he was completely settled inside her to let her adjust to his size. There were several overwhelming moments, then she turned her head and kissed him hungrily, matching him stroke for stroke. Her body was hot, pulsing lava around his and he had to take several deep breaths to keep from exploding right then. Jake felt as if lightning were streaking through his bloodstream, causing him to stroke faster. She screamed and the walls around him clamped down, triggering his own eruption. With a ragged cry that echoed hers, he emptied himself into her body. Groaning as the movement caused mini-quakes to tighten around him, he rolled them so she was on top. His face was buried in her hair, breathing in the scent of their combined smells, and he felt her raise her head to look down at him with the mist wonderful look he'd ever seen in her eyes.  
"Jake?" she said softly, tracing his mouth with her fingertips.  
"Hmm?"  
"I love you too. Very much."  
He smiled from ear to ear and kissed her again, starting everything all over.

Jake looked down at Bella, stars still in his eyes. His hand reached out to twine a lock of hair around his finger. Once again something had changed, he could feel it all the down to his core. He could see that she felt it too, from the way she was gazing up at him. "No regrets?" he rumbled softly.  
She smiled and raised her head to kiss him lovingly, her hand cupping his face tenderly and stroking his cheek with her tapered fingers. "Silly man," she murmured. "One thing, though." Her grin was mischievous. Jake arched a brow.  
"That look frightens me. What is it that your devious mind is plotting?"  
"Jake, you're superhumanly strong, right?"  
He paused, trying to guess where her mind was taking her. "Yes," he said slowly.  
"Wonderful. Would you jam the door? Just jam, not shatter into million pieces. I intend for Charlie to get used to our having a relationship, but not by him walking by and seeing us like this." She grinned from ear to ear.  
Laughing like loon, he got up and took the edge of the door in both hands, shoving forward. There was a loud boom that rattled the house and worked very well for jamming the door- the rusty hinges locked together and had to be pulled off by Jake much later that night.


	7. Chapter Six: Monster

Chapter Six: Monster

The instant Bella got home she knew something was wrong. A strange tension had filled the air to a snapping point and it almost seemed like there was something weird about her heating, like there were some spots that were fine and others were freezing. In that second she knew exactly what was wrong- and of wasn't her heating system.  
Racing towards her bedroom, she found a lot more than she had expected. "Stop!" she yelled, throwing herself towards the open door. Jacob was shaking, vibrating from head to toe, his fists clenched and completely white. Edward was crouched near the window, absolutely still and making a terrifying hissing noise. Bella couldn't bare to have the people she loved tear at each other, so she threw herself between them. "Please, don't! Edward, this is Jacob! You know who he is to me." She turned desperately to face Jacob. "Jake, this is Edward Cullen. He's one of my friends. Please you two, don't fight."  
"Bells, you don't know what he is," Jake's voice was strangled, harsh, as if he had to contain something deadly.  
She put a hand on his arm, hoping to keep him calm. "He's a vampire, I know. That doesn't mean he's bad." She kept her voice low and soothing in an effort to keep him calm. It didn't work.  
"Doesn't mean he's bad? Bella, he drinks blood to survive! How can that not be bad?"  
"This coming from someone who turns into a dog every time he cannot get his feelings under control," Edward snapped. His voice was quiet, but of contained a venomous power to it that seemed to sink into the brain like oil into water. "Bella, you should be wiser in who you choose to be... intimate with. Animals don't make good husbands."  
It was the last part that seemed to snap something in Jacob. Bella could see something break from his control and felt something rip through her. As close as she was to the werewolf, she had only a moment of clarity to think, 'this is what happened to Emily' before searing pain seemed to explode over her.  
She screamed once. The world went black.

Jake felt strange, as if he was watching from a distance and in slow motion. The thin boy raced with inhuman speed to Bella's side, and a sound seemed to reach Jake slowly. The scream was in a tenor voice, and it took him a moment to clue together that it was from the vampire now kneeling by Bella. Pale hands seemed to float over her, but not touch. It was as if he was trying to find someplace to hold her but couldn't. The thought sunk into Jake's mind and he turned his head slowly.  
The sight ripped the haze from him and a shout of unbelievable grief echoed in the room like sandpaper to the ears.  
"NO! Bella, Bells, please, no. Get up! C'mon, Bells, wake up." he crawled to her and reached his arms out as well, but just like Edward he couldn't find any. Her arm looked like... he couldn't look at it. Even her face and legs were ripped, looking like shrapnel had exploded close to her. Her eyes were open, unseeing, and Jake saw all of the pain he'd caused her in those eyes. What had he done? How could he have killed her? He would never have harmed her! Never!  
Agony wrenched his chest and he screamed, his large body curling inward. It felt like something anchoring him was being ripped away, with him still attached. Instinctively he knew it was the part of his soul that Bella had made up. The pull viciously yanked it again and another wave of pain seared him. His body seized, splotches of fur bursting through skin and retreating in the blink of an eye. His bones snapped and contorted all over, shaping and then reshaping. The ripping sensation washed over him again and he realized that if it was Bella going away, there was still a chance to save her.  
When the next wave came he fought it, screaming as he tried to keep their souls together. The undercurrent was too strong, though, pulling him down with of as he fought to stay whole. Agony and grief welled up and he looked up at the vampire, gathering as much strength as he could to speak over the pain. "Please," he bit out. "Kill me."  
Edward looked at him sharply and saw the emotions welling up in him. "Are you sure?" he asked quietly but quickly, leaping the distance of the room in one stride.  
A new wave swept through Jake and he locked his jaw, but the sound rumbled through the room all the same. "Do it!" he shouted above the pain.  
Edward hesitated a moment, long enough that Jake spasmed and contorted in pain. Jake's eyes held Edward's and without warning he flipped the were onto his back-no small feat for being twice his size-and took the smallest portion of time to listen. His fist punched down over Jacob's heart exactly in between beats. Any eerie silence followed.  
Shaking with tearless, soundless sobs, Edward sat back, looking at the macabre rendition of Romeo and Juliet before him. Now he had his answer to the question that had plagued him for decades; he truly was a monster. He didn't even need fangs; one sentence had ended the lives of his best friend and her other half. He truly was a monster.


	8. Chapter Seven: Ancestor

Chapter Seven: Ancestor

_Jacob felt as if his world was shattering, as if his heart were being ripped from his body, and he tried to fight it. He pulled back with all of the strength that he could muster, but the current sucked him down mercilessly. He screamed, roaring with pain as he realized that this agony was Bella's soul being torn from his. His eyes met the vampire's and he knew what he had to do. "Please, kill me." _

_Edward had become absolute stillness, no muscle moving. "Are you sure?" He had asked. _

_Jacob had wanted to scream at him, 'Of course I'm sure, you bloodsucking idiot' but hadn't the breath or the energy. "Do it!" was the best he could manage. One second the vampire had been sitting across the room, and the next Jacob was on his back, looking up, and then…_

_Nothing_.

Jake looked around him as an eerie black fog seemed to settle on him until it pressed and crushed. "No!" he shouted, fighting its hold. He had to get to Bella. Nothing else mattered but he get to her. If he could just figure out how to reach her, bring her back, then he'd do whatever it took to make her whole again. He knew it was crazy, that there was no way, but he had to try.

Bella couldn't be dead. She just _couldn't_. Not his Bella, his reckless, insane, caring Bells that had decided it would be okay to step right up next to him when she could see that he was fighting to hold the wolf back. Why hadn't she stepped away? She'd seen Emily's face, what had happened when she'd been too close to Sam in a phase, but had she learned? No! Instead, she'd tried to calm him and keep everyone from harm. And now she was _dead_! She was _dead_ and it was because of _him_!

"Bella!" he shouted, as if by sheer willpower he could break through the shrouds of mist that draped over him and reach her. He ripped his arms through it, but whenever he did, the vapor drew closer and pressed him harder, killing him again. Finally he stopped, laboring for breath and trying to organize a mind in chaos.

"Please, if anyone can hear me…" he broke off, feeling like an idiot. '_But if it got back Bella?'_ a voice in the back of his mind whispered. Then anything would be worth it, he thought instantaneously. "If anyone can hear me, please, just bring her back. Undo what I did. I _know_ it wasn't her time; she isn't ready to be here. Please, _please_ let her go!"

A figure seemed to step out of the black depths and the weight on his body eased, then lifted. The man stepped into some sort of light and Jake could make out features. The slashing cheekbones and hawk-like nose, the full, wide lips and the oval shaped face, the wolf-like eyes; all of it flowed together to create the face he'd know as well as his own. Somehow he knew that this was his great grandfather, Ephraim Black, alpha and chieftain of the Quileutes. "You have come far for her," he said. Rushing rivers, sighs of breezes through willows, the rush of adrenaline through veins and the joy of the wolf pack exploding into song; all of it was in his voice.

The wolf in Jake rose and responded, rising to the surface and howling back. He had a moment of joy before he remembered what his wolf had done to Bella. The rush of delight was tamped down quickly. "What do I have to do?" Jake asked quietly.

Ephraim looked at him in a somber way. "You do not ask what it will cost?"

"No."

"If I said it cost her?" All of Jake's muscles tensed and his face became stone. "I thought as much. Jacob," he sighed, reaching out and putting a hand on the shoulder of the younger man- although they both looked the same age, "You saw your mate before you died. You understand how much it would take to heal her completely and bring her to life again."

Jake nodded. "I also know it's my fault she happens to be dead."

Ephraim's eyes looked solidly into Jake's and seemed ruffled for the first time. "There is no blame. Accidents happen, far more often than you think. Do not blame yourself for something that has happened to far older wolves." His hand rose to Jake's face and a single finger pressed between his eyes. "Luck is on your side, _Kisecawchuck_." _Daystar_. "The spirits have more in store for you, and your mate." A ghost of a smile appeared on his lips. "I don't envy you, or your path. But to have a second chance… treat it carefully, Jacob Black, and anything will be alright."

His voice echoed in Jake's mind and a bolt of electricity seared through his brain, making him shout in pain. His great-grandfather faded out, and the light dimmed until there was nothing.


	9. Chapter Eight: Gold

Chapter Eight: Gold

Jake woke with a start, jerking upright and looking around in a panic. Bella! His eyes darted around the room until he realized he was lying right beside her. His entire body froze; Bella lay peacefully, eyes closed, her chest moving up and down in a natural rhythm. The hand that had nearly been severed was resting near her head, her face was unmarked and there was no sign of pain anywhere.

Looking up, Jake knew that everything had been real; there were splinters that had once been part of a desk, chunks of what looked like books and a small piece of the bookshelf, and there was blood everywhere. But looking down at Bella, everything seemed alright. His heart thumped painfully in his chest and he swallowed past the lump in his throat. She was okay! She was alive and she was okay again!

"Bella," he whispered in an achingly tender voice. She stirred and rolled towards him, murmuring something about being sleepy. He laughed, but it was watery, and he picked her up with hands that shook and he cradled her on his lap. She was so small, so fragile, barely taking up any space on his lap as he curled her body tight so he could wrap around her completely with his much larger frame. Jake's cheek rested on the top of her head and he rocked slowly, trying to comfort himself, really.

"Jake," she sighed dreamily and wrapped her arms around his torso. It was then that reality seemed to float upon her and she felt his body shake with soft tremors and the tears quietly escaping him. "Jake, shh. It's alright. I'm here." Why was he crying?

"I'm so sorry, Bella. I didn't mean to." It was those disjointed words that finally made sense click into place. The fight, Jake exploding, _the pain_, the darkness, and then… this. How was she still alive? She tried to pull back to see if she was a horrifying mess, but Jake's body prevented any sort of movement, so she just relaxed against him again.

"Jake, you know it wasn't your fault. Even Sam made a mistake and you know how calm he is. Shh, don't make yourself sick. I'm okay, really, I don't hurt at all. Everything's alright, Jake." Bella's hands rubbed up and down his back and her voice soothed him until he finally quieted and loosened until she could poke her head up. His face was the same as ever, a little red from crying and taught with worry, but no different than before. She sighed with relief and stroked his cheeks with her fingers. "I love you, Jake." Bella smiled and cupped his face, pulling his head down to kiss his lips gently, rubbing back and forth.

Without warning his mouth devoured hers, using lips and teeth and tongue to drag her under a wave of pleasure. Desperation drove his hands to rush over her, seeking flesh and tearing at cloth that dared to separate them. Laying her back he shredded the jeans that encased her, but made sure not to harm her. Wisps of air and a slight tingling as his claws brushed her made her shiver and her hips moved restlessly. "Jake," she spoke softly, making sure to catch his attention. His gaze riveted on her lips until she slowly rose up and took his chin in the cups of her palms, forcing his eyes to hers. "I'm not going anywhere. You didn't kill me. Everything's alright now." She smiled at him gently. "Everything will be okay, I promise." She brushed her lips against his and wrapped her body around him, sheltering him from himself and the outside world.

With her cheek pressed against his, Jake found he could breathe again. It was hard to think past his initial instinct to take and preserve, but he found that he could relax when her arms were around his neck, her breath stirring his hair, her tiny fingers moving in soothing circles across his back, her ankles locked around his waist. He felt the air moving through his lungs at a slower rate, and with the calming sensation spreading from her fingers to his mind. He felt the tidal wave of emotion that he felt for her rush up. Even after everything that had happened, she would think of him first. "Bella," the sound stirred her hair. She looked up and saw the emotion shining in his eyes. It spread from him to her and her breath caught at the sensation of her enormous love for him welling up and spilling back to him.

Bella leaned towards him at the exact same moment he did; the kiss was sweeter than sunlit honey, more powerful than the receding tide, more hypnotic than the mist sifting through the high mountain forest. This time her mouth clung to his like a soft pillow, welcoming him to sink in softly and find everything he'd ever dreamed of. When the seam of her lips parted and let his tongue enter, he didn't plunder, he gave. Her soft sigh was heaven opening its gates and saying that nothing he'd done was his fault after all. With a joyous laugh he hooked his arms around her and teased her with his mouth, drawing her tongue out to play until neither of their breathing was steady and passion tinged with laughter and blissful happiness washed over them.

It was Bella who pushed Jake back now, wanting him to know how much she adored him. Her kisses were placed down his neck and chest with lips that were curved in a smile and her eyes sparkled like tiger eye gems sprinkled with stardust when she raised her head and looked down at him. "I love you," she whispered, peppering small whispers of kisses over and down his chest, admiring the fact that being Native American, he had no body hair until she reached the thin trail below his belly button. Oh, how she loved this man. Not just his body-with its fantastic muscles and golden/bronze skin- or his mind-which always seemed to think of her happiness, welfare and health first. His heart seemed to be just like their souls- wrapped up until she couldn't tell if they were even separate any more. She never wanted it to change.

When Bella reached his hips Jake didn't know if he could take it anymore. "Bells, you've either gotta do something real quick or… or…"

"Or what, Mr. Black?" she laughed, and the vibrations traveled through her lips to his body and he groaned, clamping his eyes and jaw shut in an effort to keep from taking control.

"Bells…" he warned.

"Yes, Jake?" she looked up from some hidden spot he had on the outside of his hip, high up, and grinned at him. She could tell by the standing ovation not a foot from her head _exactly_ what she did to him, but she didn't seem repentant whatsoever.

"Isabella, you have _got_ to do something. Either kill me outright or do _something_ about this- this- _thing_ here!" he finished, growling low in his throat. She laughed again and his hips arched upward in automatic response. "Bella!" he snarled. In reply she moved her head 5 inches to the left and his world tunneled. The roar ripped through the room and claws burst through his nails and sank into the wood in his effort to hold still and let her set the pace.

Seeing how much he enjoyed this-_feeling_ how much he enjoyed it- Bella wondered why she'd ever thought this was disgusting. For all the fact that his member was steel-hard, the velvety smooth texture and softness made her want to purr. Her hand gripped the base as her tongue brushed against the tip, and a sound spread through the floorboards it was so low. Grinning, she took that as encouragement and took him into her mouth.

Jake thought he was loosing his mind. Her sweet, hot mouth was creating the eighth world wonder and she was just getting started. He had no idea how he stayed in control as her tongue found the spot under the base of his broad head and rubbed, sending him through the roof and making savage growls echo in the room that didn't sound like him at all. "Jesus Christ, Bella!" he could only laugh as she figured out how to take him deep without anyone telling her (he got that clip in her mind as she thought _'Is this right?'_) and he felt about ready to crawl out of his skin in an effort to find some sort of release. It was either that or rip into something, but that wouldn't work. She'd just take that as more reason to continue. When her other hand came up to entice the tightness of his balls his hips arched reflexively and he couldn't take it.

His face was stamped with sensuality when he tugged on her hair-surprisingly gentle- until her face lifted up and laughter was playing across her expressive features. "You," he panted, "are _evil_." She laughed and crawled up his body, rubbing delightedly.

"Really? Seems to me that you like the devil then. _Very. Much."_ She spaced the words out in that half-teasing, half-wicked, completely sexy voice and he was caught between laughing and whimpering. The scales tipped towards the latter, much to the hurt to his pride- when she sat up, straddling him, and ran her hands up her body to sift her hair away from her face. Bella tilted her head up and the pale moonlight made her seem like an ethereal pagan goddess rising above him and claiming a tribute stretched out before her. With her hands anchored in her hair she stretched up and settled herself over the tip- and dropped. They both moaned at the feeling of her adjusting to his size so abruptly and Jake swore he saw stars.

Bella's hands came down and her fingers threaded with Jacob's, twining together in yet another way. She set the tempo to some beat in her head, as earthy as Jake's wolf and as mystical as her skin in the moonlight, something that made both of the lovers feel fireworks raging through their bodies at the same time the ebb and flow of the tide pulsed in their veins. She rocked herself on him, clenching as she rose up and sinking over him like lava; he arched and filled completely, stretching her impossibly. The thrusts became faster and faster, Bella's body clenching around him tighter and Jake's tendons standing out in his legs and arms as his muscles tensed. In a blinding flash her body sank down on his and rippled and tightened, refusing to let his body go as her muscles milked him. Her cry mingled with his roar and his body erupted into hers, hot pulses joining them together.

Jake's head raised from the floor to look at her as she melted like hot butter onto him. His head lowered as her forehead dropped to his chest and his hand came up to settle in her hair. "I think we should have this entire floor covered in gold," was the first thought that leapt from his brain to his mouth. Bella's giggles rocked her against his chest and echoed in the room.

_**A/N**_** For your amusement:** when I was writing the lovelove scene I had to pause and think of what to write next. In that moment I came up with this: WWRD- What Would Rosalie Do. :D I _so_ nearly put that in there, but refrained, but I had to put it down here. Hope it made you giggle as much as me. After all, she and Emmett didn't break all those houses playing Parcheesi.


	10. Chapter Nine: Giggles

Chapter Nine: Giggles

Jake's excellent hearing woke him sometime in the early hours of the morning. The grey-ish, pearly light of dawn was creeping through the windows and making funny patterns through the leaves of the tree right outside the panes of glass. Gravel crunched, shifted, and Jake swore he felt the gravel shifting underneath tires, his senses were that acute at that second.

Unfortunately, it took precious seconds for his brain to kick in and realize that the gravel was moving beneath the tires of _Charlie's car_, and that meant that _Charlie _was _home_. His swearing was low, fast, and pricked the ears of dogs in the neighborhood, though no human could possibly hear it.

"Shitshitshit, oh crap, I'm gonna be a neutered wolf." His body jerked up and he ran for the door, closing it soundlessly, but firmly. _Very _firmly. He figured it would take about a minute for Charlie to get out of the car, into the house and up the stairs before he realized his daughter's door was jammed quite nicely. It would probably take him another few seconds to decide whether or not he wanted to check in on Bella. Jake would bet his in-danger-balls that Charlie would, if only to assure himself that Bella hadn't died of terminal clumsiness sometime during the night.

A wind whipped around the room, waking Bella up, as Jake ran to her drawers and grabbed all the items of clothing he could think of. Socks, in case her feet got cold. Shoes? No, those were downstairs. _That's okay, Emily's feet are about the same size_, Jake muttered in his mind. Underwear; check. Shirt, jeans, jacket; check, check, and… he found a hoodie in her closet. That'd work. This took him about five seconds, given to the fact that he had to think and look for the hooded sweatshirt.

Next he turned and knelt next to Bella, who was only just beginning to push herself up. "Jake?" she asked as he suddenly appeared in front of her.

Jake deposited the clothes next to her and brushed a kiss against her forehead. "Morning, Bells. Listen, honey, your dad is about to walk upstairs and discover that your door just so happens to be jammed. As I have no clothes and the room looks like a bomb went off, I figured you wouldn't want us to be here when he opens that door, am I right?" Her eyes flew open and she bobbed her head up and down frantically, reaching over and grabbing the bra, trying to snap it in place but unable to find the hooks in the back in her haste.

"Jake, help!" she said, panicked giggles making their way up her throat.

Jake chuckled as he moved behind her and struggled to get the hooks (which he swore were becoming smaller and more crooked by the instant) into the latches. "You know, it's no wonder men only have to take these things off; they're too damn hard to put on. Jesu—there!" he whisper-yelled as the hooks got into place. Well, they were a little lopsided, with one being on one level and another farther to the right, but right now wasn't the time to be picky! She grabbed the panties and moved to stand, but he grabbed her and hurried the process by gently picking her up, mindful of his strength. She rushed to pull on pants and started on her shirt and then the hoodie. By then Jake had the window open and had figured out that he could jump down without jarring Bella too much if he carried her.

Turning around he had the most insane urge to laugh and drool at the same time. The fool had left the button and zipper undone on her pants, giving him glimpses of silky white skin against dark cloth, and her hood was lopsided, making her look like a demented rabbit. The combination of innocently maniacal girl and undeniable temptress threatened to make his eyes bulge out of his head while he died of suppressed chuckles. As she thrashed about, trying-emphasis on the _try_- to stand upright while her foot was caught on the end of the low-riding jeans, the giggles won out and he caught her, his body shaking and choking sounds emerging from his throat.

Bella swung around, foot forgotten, and looked up at him worriedly. "Jake, what's…" she trailed off, looking at the unguarded mirth on his face. She looked at him curiously and swiveled her head around, seeking the source of his hilarity. She caught a glance in the mirror and turned pink, then pushed the hood back and nonchalantly did up her pants. The sound of footsteps on the stairwell made them both look up, panic written across their faces, and then… the entire situation caught up on them and silent laughter rocked both of them, making the floor shake and the air wrinkle with soundless amusement. Jake had to struggle to keep quiet as he picked her up and lunged with superhuman speed for the window. A knock came on the door, but there were no occupants in the room, the window was closed silently, and the only things that were left of Jake and Bella were a streak of wind racing across the open expanse of the street and shouts of disembodied laughter.


	11. Chapter Ten: Wolfie

Chapter Ten: Wolfie

Jacob had to stop as they reached the middle of the forest, and he collapsed, Bella on top of him, as they both roared with laughter. Neither of them knew exactly why they laughed so hard; maybe it was nervous giggles or just the fact that they both knew that Charlie was about to walk in and flip a gasket.

"Oh my god," she choked out, trying to stop the spouts of glee at a sudden thought, "what is he going to think of your clothes and my clothes in tiny pieces?" She tried to imagine her father's face at that, but only ended up seeing a dumbfounded Charlie at what must look like ground zero.

Jake's chest jerked both him and Bella as he finally calmed down some. "I don't wanna know. All I know is that I'm too young to wear a cone of shame and become a limping falsetto." Bella giggled against him and looked into his eyes, and the entire fit started over again.

Someone cleared their throat nearby, and Jake went on instant alert. His face slammed shut and all laughter was turned off. His body, so relaxed before, now sprang tense and leapt up to cover Bella's much smaller frame. The growl that had started in his chest died as he saw Sam wearing only a pair of jeans and holding another. A soft grin lightened his face as he tossed the pants to Jacob.

"Why am I not surprised that I got a call from Billy to bring these to you at this early in the morning?" He laughed and Bella turned a bright red.

Jake's face was puzzled. "How did Dad know I'd need them?"

"He must've guessed, after you being gone all night and now warning about a pack meeting beforehand." Sam shrugged. "I figured, when you didn't show up last night for your post, that there was something like that going on. After all, you are new mates." He seemed to think that covered everything.

The other werewolf shook his head as he helped his mate up. Sam noticed that Jake's features were adoring as his gaze drifted over Bella's face, but there was something else—sadness? Fear?

"It's a little more complicated than that, Sam." Deep eyes met and held those of the leader. "Why don't we all get to your place before I start?"

Sam studied Jacob, wondering what could be so important. "That bad, huh?" Jake didn't say anything, just nodded, and his worry kicked up another notch. It was eased a little when Bella's hand reached up to stroke the boy/man's cheek and a soft, giving smile spread over her face. But Sam wasn't completely sure. Jake turned into the hand and closed his eyes. _Something seriously bad must've happened, to have him looking like that_, he thought, but pushed it aside for the moment. If they were going to be traveling, then Jake doubtless wouldn't want to hear him worrying like an old peahen. He took out the cell phone from a hidden pocket in the pants and started to gather the pack, although a couple of them grumbled. "Now," he added sternly; the feelings of curiosity and alarm spread.

"I'll go on ahead. Catch up soon, alright?" he trotted off towards the trees before disappearing from their sight and shifting.

Jake looked down at Bella tenderly. "Do you think you could handle it if you rode on my back? You know, as a wolf?"

Bella looked like an excited two year old. "You mean I'd get to see you finally? Well, you know what I mean." She rolled her eyes at him when she thought of how that could be taken.

His gaze turned inward, strange. "You already have seen me."

"When?"

"When you died." His words were barely audible, but Bella heard them and heard the emotion behind them.

She didn't know exactly what came over her, just that a sudden surge of… _something_ came over her. Her hands swung out and smacked the center of his chest. It didn't hurt him, but it shocked him enough that he back up a step, trying to make sure she didn't hurt herself. She kept coming, though, and pushed him back several more steps before going toe-to-toe with him and looking straight into his eyes. It would've been funny-her neck was craned as far back as it would go-but the emotion in her eyes stopped any laughter. Love, anger and exasperation all mixed in her large chocolate eyes and he felt proud of her in that moment. Even after everything, she would still stand up and put him in his place. At least, he thought that before she opened her mouth and gave him a royal ass chewing.

"Jacob Daniel Black! Would you _quit_ with the death thing? It was an accident. Those sort of things happen. Just cause you out of the blue changed into a wolf and I died doesn't mean the entire thing was your fault. I could trip down a flight of stairs and die, for Pete's sake! Would that mean that it was my fault I'm clumsy?" Her eyes dared him to argue, but his tongue was stuck in his throat, which had decided to close up.

He felt a weight being lifted off of him and he wrapped his arms around her, picking her off her feet with his embrace tight around her waist. Jake's face buried in the crook of her shoulder and he shuddered once, then relaxed. "Thank you," he whispered.

Bella was shocked by the enormous tension that seemed to leave him. "Jake, how could I ever believe that any of this was because of you? Honey, things like that happen. You have to learn to let yourself off the hook sometime or later. Besides, that's just silly. Now come on, Wolfie, we have a pack to meet." She smiled up at him and he mock-sighed in defeat, while pride and love surged up in him.

"I suppose." He stopped and looked down at her, brow raised. "_Wolfie_? What the hell kind of name is that for an enormous, flesh-tearing beast?"

She laughed at him and playfully slapped his arm. "It's either that or dog-breath. Take your pick."

His ego shuddered, but he knew she'd call him the latter just to get a rise out of him. In front of his packmates, no doubt. The horror. "Fine," he fake grumbled, but couldn't keep the smile off his face. "You win. Just for that I get to take the… scenic… route."

This caught her attention evilly and he grinned at the suspicion on her face. "Scenic? Shouldn't being able to see my wolf mate turn into 'an enormous, flesh-tearing beast' be enough? Or are you that dull—in color, I mean." She raised her eyebrow at him and had a smug look. Damn. There was no winning with this woman.

"Yeah, yeah. But I intend to get back." He leaned down and nipped her ear, making her jump, and he whispered in her ear. "And don't say I didn't warn you." Bella shivered this time, and he laughed before stepping back and stripping off his pants.

"Jake! What are you—oh. Never mind." She broke off, turning a dull pink. He threw back his head and laughed before tossing the material to her.

"This is _not_ Harry Potter and I am _not _an emaciated thing on two legs. Just stand back and watch. This is way cooler than any special effects." He made sure he was a good distance away before starting the change. It started as a feathery feeling, a whisper under his skin. The whisper grew to a rush and his blood pumped in the thrill of the phase. Fur slid out of his skin smoothly, his bones melted and formed into a wolf's skeleton. In the blink of an eye he seemed to dissolve from man to wolf, and Bella stared at the beast.

He hadn't been lying; he really _was_ enormous. If she stood on her tiptoes she might come up to his shoulder. He was bigger than a horse, and probably almost as long as her truck. He was… _huge_. And beautiful. He could grouse about it all he wanted later, but to no avail; he was beautiful. His fur wasn't russet, but the color just between light brown and red, the color shifting into darker browns and reds with white threads sprinkled in. His ears were pricked forward and his eyes-the only thing that stayed completely the same- looked into hers, the depthless black seeming to wait for her reaction.

"Oh Jake, you're still waiting for me to run, aren't you?" The wolf's head jerked up and down. Well, she did run—to him. The giant creature's head bent down as she wrapped her arms around it, burying her face in the fur in between his eyes. "My Jake," she whispered, and kissed the spot before pulling back to look into his eyes. "Now come on, Wolfie. We have to make it back to tell the others what went on while I was in la-la land. And if you think you can take me somewhere else instead, I know the vets in this town. You could wake up wearing the cone of shame one day, and then you'd _really_ be a limping falsetto." She grinned evilly and he whined, tail curling down to protect said assets. "That's what I thought," she laughed, and kissed him again. "Let's go, Jake. The sooner you get this done the easier it will be for me to have my wicked way with you."

The wolf's tail stood straight up and even in this new body she could tell the hopeful expression in his eyes. "_After_," she said firmly, and his tail tocked back and forth eagerly before he bent down on his front legs. She still had to use his shoulder as leverage to climb up, but it was easier. Her squeal rang through the trees as he suddenly-but fluidly, she noticed- rose to his feet and took off running.

"Jake, you won't get anything if I'm dead of a heart attack before we get anywhere!" Her shout was echoed by a howl that resembled a hoot of laughter as wolf and woman traveled at an outrageous speed through the dense trees.

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**_A/N: _**_Okay, I'm starting to run low on ideas! I know the plotline I want it to go on, but any ideas for following chapters would wonderful! Thank you so much for reading this :) I know how much these notes can be a distraction when you want more story **now**_!


	12. Chapter Eleven: Nothing Like Hot Choc

_**A/N: **__Hey, there were a few questions from the previous chapters, so I'm here to answer them!_

_First:__ Ephraim Black was the spirits' messenger to tell Jake that he had to keep living. You could say that they would pick him because 1)he's the first alpha, and 2)he's Jake's great-grandfather, and a relative might make things easier all around to explain. And let's face it, who wouldn't to meet a great-grandfather they never got the chance to meet, and one who just __**happens**__ to be a werewolf as well? I think that'd be pretty sweet.  
Second:__ About them coming back to life, it's obvious that Jake decided to die because he didn't want to live without Bella. But the spirits knew there was something more to Jake's life, and since (in my mind) the spirits created werewolves with mates, they understood that one mate cannot exist without the other. So by bringing back Jake, they knew they had to bring Bella back as well. Pretty much, Jake=has to live for something coming up=Bella has to live for something coming up. Does that explain it well?  
Third:__ Don't worry, Charlie's perspective on his daughter's not-so-subtly-destroyed bedroom will come up soon, I promise!_

_Very, very, VERY appreciated and equally special thanks to __**lildv274, **__**Skullqueencb**_,_**Twilightlover32293**__**, **__**snowfire81**__**, **__**La Mariposa3795**__**, **__**manda2784**__**, **__**pattyofurniture, **and last-but definitely NOT least!-__**SarahxEmmett**__for your wonderful reviews! Thank you __**SUPER**__ much for helping me out! :D_

_ ~Okay, back to what you're here for!~_

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Chapter 11: Nothing Like Hot Chocolate and Death Stories

Emily was already giving the boy/men hot chocolate when Jake and a blushing Bella entered the house. It was cozy, a good sized cabin in the middle of the forest, not too far from the main town. Emily made it feel like a real home, with knick-knacks everywhere and the scent of fresh cookies in the air. Bella had to laugh when she saw Emily give one of the boys a talk-down when he refused the cocoa and demanded coffee instead. She brought that boy down a notch, smiled and gave him the mug and went back to grab the cookies that she said should be done by then.

Bella imagined that if he were a wolf right then, his tail would be tucked between his legs and the thought made her grin. The boy saw this and snarled, but she only hid it behind a hand. Jake gave him a hard look above her head and Bella watched as-for whatever reason-the boy stopped glaring. Suspicious, she looked up to see Jake with an innocent face. She trusted _that_ look as far she could throw him—not even a chance of it.

"What did you do now?" she sighed, but had to smile.

"Bella! You're here! I won't be overrun by boys who think they're macho just because they can become flea-ridden mongrels anymore!" Several protests were made, but everyone knew that Emily practically doted on them all, so no one really argued with it. "You all _resemble_ that remark and the I know it, so don't even think you resent it." She grinned to Bella conspiratorially and took her hand, leading her to the kitchen. "By the look on Jake's face, he wants alone time to tell the pack what he wants to say," she explained, and looked over the younger woman's shoulder to Jake. "Jake!" she shouted with another grin, "I'm stealing your mate. We're becoming lesbians and you'll never see her again! She's ditching your fleas for my cookies!"

"Unfortunately Bella doesn't know that your cookies taste worse than his fleas!" One of the boys shouted, and Emily stuck her tongue out in his general direction.

Jake bent down and kissed Bella on the lips softly before he smiled at Emily and kissed her cheek. "Thanks, Em." He looked at Bella's puzzled frown and smiled softly. "Only for a little while. I want to tell them what… what happened. I promise it'll be okay."

Bella sighed and nodded, letting Emily tug her away, into the most wonderful kitchen she'd ever seen. She'd been in several different kitchens, like the ones in the apartments and houses that she and Renée had lived in over the years, and then there was the one Charlie had, but this one… Bella decided she wanted one like this someday. It wasn't very large, but the room was filled with the scent of cookies and spices. She saw a cabinet with wavy glass holding rows and rows of spices and herbs, then another with colored glass holding dishes and cups and mugs. The drawers had carvings on them, and as she looked she saw that the entire bottom line of cabinets and drawers had incredibly detailed works that showed wolves, panthers, faeries, elves, tigers, humans, dragons… you name it, it was there. She saw dragons flying with eagles, wolves running with men, children playing with faeries while a phoenix flew overhead. The forest was perfect down to the individual leaves. Bella had to drop to the balls of her feet with her knees bent up to see everything.

"Sam did it for me. He's wonderful like that, knowing how I have shelves of books from when I was a kid, fairytales and silly things like that. Now that I'm older I have novels that still deal with out-of-the-norm things, but they're a bit more mature." She winked at Bella, who understood 'mature' meant romance books. "I even get ones with vampires in them just to tease him. He usually hides them someplace and then puts ones with werewolves in, but we both know it's a joke the two of us play on one another." Emily's voice was gentle and loving, as if just remembering made her feel those emotions all over again. Her laughter was contagious and Bella looked up and joined her, thinking of ways she could tease Jake like that. Oh, the fun to be had…

"I can see I've put ideas in your head. Good. Jake needs a little ribbing. He's too serious sometimes." Em shook her head in disbelief.

"Jake? Serious?" Bella grinned. "I know what you mean, though. He has moments where he's too old. He needs to learn to give himself some slack. Is Sam like that?"

Em threw her head back and laughed. "Are you kidding me? He's an old granny in a man's body sometimes. Yes, he has times when he's so… _serious_." She rolled her eyes as she placed the hot tray of cookies on the table. "Those two are a lot alike, which is a good thing and a horrible thing, depending on how you look at it. They're wonderful, on one hand. Sam's always trying please me and he's an absolute sweetheart, but sometimes I just want to," she made a strangling motion with her hands, shaking them back and forth, "choke him or something. Especially when it comes to my safety. Ugh, that man gets infuriating when 'precautions' come up." She took a healthy bite of the cookie and closed her eyes in minor ecstasy. When she opened her eyes she noticed that Bella wasn't eating and urged the plate towards the girl. "Eat. It's my tradition to bake whenever the boys come over. They all look like skin and bones, although Jake has gotten some serious meat on him lately. The rest, besides my Sam, you'd never guess how much muscle they have in them. And you, you look the same. Therefore you must eat, or you'll make me feel fat."

Bella laughed at the thought that Emily could ever be fat and took a bite of chocolate chip and oatmeal cookie. _Oooooh, I've died… again_, she sighed in content and had to savor the first, second and third cookies. "Emily, you're right."

"So I tell Sam. What is it over this time?" she laughed.

"I am throwing Jacob over for these cookies." She heard a silence and a growl and felt the urge to cackle evilly. "Joking, Jake!" she rolled her eyes at Em and the two broke into giggles. Anyone looking at them wouldn't realize that they weren't long-time family. They looked like sisters, besides the obvious fact that Emily was native and Bella was wonder bread, she was that white. "That's a precaution, I assume," she leaned in and gave Emily an insider look and Em nodded gravely. Giggles broke out again and the talk resumed in the living room.

Jake shook his head at the two girls. He was glad that Bella was bonding with Emily, but _jeez_, did they have to be such… _girls_? He laughed inwardly at this thought and got back to task. The pack had just been discussing the movement of the leeches on the other side of the border between the reservation and the 'regulars,' as they termed it. Anyone not of Quileute descent was termed 'regular,' because they really were regular in the eyes of the rest of the pack. Jake had to disagree, but that was just because he could never call Bells regular, or anything to do with normal.

Jake heard someone clear their throat and glanced up, startled. "What?"

He heard Leah mutter something like 'puppy love' before Sam spoke up once more. "I was asking if you'd like to tell us what went on last night." Paul snickered and he sent them a quelling glance; Paul quieted, but still smirked. Sam sighed and continued. "You weren't at your post, and from what I hear from Billy, Charlie seems pretty upset over something about Bella's room." This time it wasn't just Paul—Quil and Embry laughed too. Seth at least had the decency to keep it to looking like he was choking. Sam still spoke in his quiet voice, but he got them to shut up real quick. "Why is there blood splattered on the walls?"

The entire pack froze and looked over at Jake, who was staring at the floor now. Taking a deep breath, he looked up and started in. "Yesterday I went to Bella's house before her school got out. I figured I'd surprise her, probably scare the hell out of her and goof off, but things didn't work out that way. I got there and one of the leeches was there."

"One of the Cullens? Why would they be at her house?" Sam's voice was mild, but curious and worried.

"She's friends with a couple of them, the thin boy, Edward, and the small one, Alice. Edward was waiting for her in her bedroom, and I smelled it even from the car. Needless to say I didn't wait and think, I ran up to her room and confronted him." He sighed. "Bella got there a few minutes later, and I was slipping on my control. The leech started saying things just to hurt her-hurt me-and… it worked. Bella probably noticed how bad I was shaking, and she _stepped close_. She put her hand on my arm, and the leech… he said something along the lines of keeping away because dogs don't mate well with humans, and for whatever reason, this got to me. Maybe because I'd been worrying about that exact thing before, but… I lost it." He looked straight at Sam and knew the words would mean something with him. "She was right next to me, and I exploded."

A heavy silence had fell upon the group, and everyone stared. A haunted look came into Sam's eyes, and Jake could tell he was reliving his own encounter with losing control. "I heard her scream, and when I came to again, the leech was on the floor next to her, but there wasn't… there wasn't anyplace left undamaged. The force of the blast shredded the bookshelf, the wall, ripped the part of the floor that'd been under my feet, and… Bella was dead." He had to stop there and clench his eyes and jaw shut in an effort to fight the guilt and terror that ripped through his veins as the memories surged to the front of his mind. Jake took a deep breath and let it out raggedly. "You can't imagine what it's like, knowing you've killed your _own mate_ like that. Her eyes were wide open and… there was so much pain… Not long after that it was like something was trying to rip my heart out of my chest. I mean, physically, not just emotionally. The pain is worse than anything I've ever felt, even worse than when that rogue vamp came and shredded me up pretty bad. It took me a couple seconds to figure out that it was the part of me that was Bella that was ripping away. I couldn't stop it—every time I tried, I just got sucked under more and the pain was so bad. So…I told Edward to kill me."

"You _what_?" Sam stood up, knocking the large chair back. The padded leather hit the floor with a boom and the rest of the pack stood up, ready to contain him. Emily and Bella rushed out of the kitchen, but one look at everyone had them staying clear. "Jacob, you told him _what_?" his voice was lower, but it still vibrated with tension and filled the room.

Jake looked him head on, unafraid. "I told him to kill me. I wasn't going to live when I had killed—" he broke off as Bella walked over to him and the look in her eyes stopped him dead.

"You. _What_?" She asked, her voice soft but deadly.

Jake's gaze flickered slightly, more than a little worried at that tone, but he knew that his choice had been right. He felt it. "I told the le—Edward," he amended quickly, "to kill me. I wasn't going to live knowing that you were dead. I wouldn't be alive, not fully. I'd go through the motions, but Bells, I wouldn't enjoy anything ever again. There is no me without you. Lifemates, got it? _Life_mates." He drew her close and felt the anger seep out of her. He looked at the rest of them, saw Paul's jaw clenching and unclenching, Seth and Embry's stunned looks, Emily's eyes shining with tears, and Sam's dwindling anger, which Jake knew had been stirred by fear of losing a member of the pack. Jake sat down again and brought Bella down with him to curl on his lap. One arm wrapped around her while the other toyed with the ends of her hair.

"Yeah, I died. Cullen didn't seem to pleased, but when I started to seize again he probably figured to put the mutt out of its misery, and he…" the wolf/man had to stop and think about it for a second. "He listened, I think, for my heartbeats."

"He measured them, and hit in between. It stops the heart from beating." Emily's voice was shaking with unshed tears. Ever since the pack had formed she'd acted as mom, and she genuinely saw herself as a mother-figure to Jacob.

Jake nodded, smiling comfortingly at her. "Yeah. It wasn't that bad, actually. One minute I was alive, and then… nothing. It was like one of those vacuum things the teacher's always talk about in science, those suck-everything-up things, had cleared everything and the pressure was horrible. There wasn't any light, any sound, but the nothingness pressed until I didn't think I'd last any longer." He felt Bella nodding in agreement and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Poor Bells. If it'd been hard on him, how the hell had she managed to come back to life like nothing had happened? She was so tiny, so fragile. His arm wrapped tighter around her. "It was really strange, but the pressure lightened until there was nothing, like I was standing on solid air, and out of the blue comes my great-grandfather."

"Ephraim?" Sam looked puzzled.

Jake nodded. "Yeah. He told me it wasn't my time-no, it wasn't _our_ time," he said, looking at his Bells and smiling a little, "and that the… what did he say?" he had to shake his head to clear it. It was like just thinking about it made the memory fuzzy and distorted. It bugged the hell out of him, and he pressed his will down until he could see things somewhat clearly. "He said the spirits had more in store for us, and that he didn't envy the task set before the pack."

Embry looked confused. "I don't understand. Why would the spirits have something in store for Bella? I mean, no offense," he added, holding his hands up to Bella and looking sheepish, "you're great for a human and all, but you're not _pack_. You're not even from the rez. Why would the spirits involve you?"

Sam shook his head, a contemplative expression settling over his features. "Either it's because of her being his mate, or they actually _do_ have something in store for her. It's not impossible, just out of the norm."

"But when has anything this pack has done qualify as 'normal?'" Emily smiled a little, and held out her hand for Sam's. He smiled and took it, running his thumb over the back of her palm.

"She has a point," Seth said, and everyone looked to him. He turned a slight pink and scooted father back at his spot by the fire, as if that would hide him more from curious eyes. "I mean, think about it. Bella isn't from the rez, but she's still his mate, and that's never happened before. It's always been someone from the tribe. And Leah's a wolf, that should count as something odd!"

"Thanks, squirt," she growled, but Jared and Paul laughed at this. Sam flicked his sight to them and they brought it down to sporadic chuckles.

"No, seriously! If you've read anything about the original pack then you'd know how totally different his one is from it." The pink was flushing into a darker red now.

Sam chuckled at the youngster and then turned his eyes back to Jake. "So I'm assuming after that, you woke up?" Jake nodded. "After being dead." Another nod. "You are one lucky dog, Jacob Black. And if you ever do something like that again, I'll beat your hide until there's no fur on it. Understand?" His voice was still warm, but Jake knew he would if he scared Sam like that again. Smiling a little, Jake nodded. "Good." His black eyes traveled around the pack, looking over all of the faces. "Questions, comments, smart remarks?"

Paul started to say something, but Jared groaned and clamped a hand over his mouth. "Can it, tail-chaser. You've always got something pissy to say. Don't be a dick."

"At least I have one!" everyone heard him say against the other wolf's hand. Emily raised her eyebrow at the two and made a noise. Both boys shut up.

"Okay, pups, I think it's safe to say that crisis was averted and you can go home. Bella, I'll talk to Billy and the two of us will figure out some bullshit to tell Charlie and that you'll be home sooner or later. You want to talk to him?"

Bella shook her head furiously. "I love Charlie, but… no. At least not until he's cooled down enough to talk without freaking, like he usually does. So thanks, but… I'll just let you and Billy take off the rough edges." She smiled sweetly and the pack laughed.

The pack leader sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "It's going to be a _long_ night. Okay, go home, everyone. Out of my house."

"Take cookies before you leave!" Em smiled at Sam and he just shook his head at her, grinning back. Everyone-but Leah, of course-ran for the kitchen door and Emily laughed.

Jake stood up, grinning, and bent down to kiss Emily's cheek again. "Thanks, Em. And make worry-wart here stop worrying for a while, okay?" She nodded and ruffled his hair, then got up to hug him and then Bella.

"Take care you two. And Bella, please come over if you have any questions or just want to have a girl chat!" She went into the kitchen to see whether or not her beloved room was demolished by raging werewolves.

"Sam, don't stress over it. It's fine now." Jake held out his hand and the two clasps forearms, and Sam patted Bella's shoulder.

"Alright, I'll try. Now seriously, out so I can have my way with my woman. If I have to deal with an upset parent, I want to at least get some 'home comfort.'" He winked and Jake hooted, took Bella's hand, and lead her out of the cabin.

"Trust me, Bells, we want to be gone by the time everyone else is." Jake mock-shuddered and made her laugh. "You'd think they'd have dozens of puppies by now, the way they act like bunnies." Bella laughed harder and pulled him close, kissing the tip of his nose.

"Okay, dog-boy. Let's go home and be bunnies ourselves, so you don't feel left out."

"Yes ma'am."


	13. Chapter Twelve: Wool of Bat, Tongue

_**A/N:**__ Forgive me! I'm so sorry I haven't put anything up in a while! Okay, the epically epic twelfth chapter just for you in the hopes that I will not be thrown to the karmatic pit of writer's doom! Lol, enjoy, please!_

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**Chapter Twelve: Wool of Bat, Tongue of Dog and Tears of Human**

A scent of reeking flesh crept across the air, staining it with death as it went. The sounds of unnaturally moving winds and sudden silence of animals mixed together and woke the werewolf out of his deep sleep. Jacob sat up and his senses kicked in before his brain did—_vampire. _His innate abilities rose to the surface; the range of his hearing grew enormously while his brain coped by allowing him to separate individual sounds, his already strong ability to smell increased tenfold, his eyesight became exact to a pinpoint, the threads laying under his body becoming thousands of single strings as his touch became precise, the tastes of trees, dirt, _Bella_ and something foul entered his mouth.

It was some nameless sense that had his attention though. He knew there was something coming, something big, and he didn't like it. It felt wrong, like ice over his bones, and he turned over to see Bella shivering, as if she felt it too. Jake felt warmth invade him, pushing the cold out and resting in his heart. _My Bella_. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, kissing the nape of her neck and making her shiver for a different reason altogether.

"Jake, when I said 'act like bunnies,' I was joking. If you decide you want some more, you'll have to settle for your hand, or at least give me a couple more hours to sleep. I think we broke something last time." Her voice was drowsy, but completely content, and they both knew it.

He smiled against her skin and nipped it gently before sitting up. "No, hun, I just thought there was—something strange nearby. I'm going to check on it and make sure there's nothing around, alright?" He deliberately hid the fact that he didn't _think_ there was _something_; he _knew_ there was a _leech_—and close. Inside reservation lands, where the Cullens knew not to be. That meant that an unknown bloodsucker was in the area. Close to Bella. The wolf rose up so fast he almost didn't recognize it, but the thought of a threat to his mate, to his Bells, brought it to the surface immediately. _Kill the intruder!_ it shouted, and Jake tried to contain the shakes threatening to take him over. _Not until we're away from Bella_, he whispered, and it calmed enough to agree.

Jake kissed her forehead and ran from the room, barely making it out the door before exploding from the inside out. Fur burst out of his skin and his clothes incinerated. Human bones shattered, not agonizingly, but still painfully, and reformed into wolf ones. A boom shuddered through the land and was deafening in the eerily silence. Chunks of dirt flew to hurtle like missiles and land hundreds of feet away. Winds like waves rocked through the air to blow the branches back on nearby trees.

Silence fell, and the wolf raced through the forest, tracking a scent of rotting meat. Jake knew that the bloodsucker had heard the explosion, but he doubted it had ever come across a werewolf in mid-phase, so it couldn't know what was coming towards it. Still, it was beyond question that it would smell him, and therefore there was a chance that it would decide to run. His pace picked up and he felt the thrill of the hunt rush through his veins, sizzling under his skin and making him feel weightless and almost giddy. _You're not making it away, leech_! The thought exploded through him and he felt the feeling of fingers against the inner walls of his mind.

_Calm yourself. It will do you no good if you catch it and then let it escape because you have no plan. I'll be there soon. _Sam's words echoed in his brain and Jake had to shake himself out of his high. He should've thought about that. What if he let it go and it trailed back to Bella for revenge? He had to get a grip on himself. He knew that the other man would wake the others by a silent call to gather, something only an alpha could do. With that beacon, the others would practically fly to where he and Sam would be; Jake hoped that 'where they would be' meant kicking vampire ass.

Suddenly there was an overpowering smell of death, and Jake's wolf gagged, but kept on. It was horrible, like leaving something in the garbage for months with a lid and then opening it up with your nose straight over it—he had to be getting close. Nothing could smell _that _bad from a long distance. Because of the way his hearing picked out separate sounds, he noticed that he couldn't hear animal heartbeats anymore. His eyesight picked up something furry lying on the ground, though, and he stopped his relentless pursuit briefly to inspect the rabbit; it was dead. Blood had trickled out its nose and ears, its eyes were wide and the pupils were nearly nonexistent. _It's heart burst. Sam, it was scared to death_. His anger mounted as his brain pieced together the missing sounds and this picture. Hopefully the rest of the animals had run or flown away. He hated to think about his turf-and he considered this part of the woods _his_, at it had been his playground ever since he was little-being invaded by the oily scum.

_Jake, dude, calm down. You're making __**us**__ angry_. A slight bit of fear and invading anger carried into Jake as Seth's voice resounded in his brain.

_What he said, Jake. Besides, you know they'll all come back. It's just the way things go,_ Embry's calm reasoning trickled in.

_Besides,_ Paul sounded cocky, and Jake's hackles rose in response, _we'll get it and shred it to pieces. Gonna get us some leech-kabob tonight!_

_Enough. You know it's stupid to think of those kinds of things during a hunt. And Paul, if you don't cool it, you'll sit back at the house and watch over one of the girls. And yes,_ the leader said when Paul started to scoff, _I can make you. So shut up and behave, or you'll be left behind this time._ It was enough to make even hotheaded Paul silent, for which the rest of them were eternally grateful.

Jake shook his head and made his muscles contract and spring forward, running faster than any other living creature. Seth might be the fastest out of them all, but Jake was in close second, and he was the strongest. He'd make it there before any of them, and in the beaten-down portion of his mind, he relished the chance to beat the threat to his mate into a tiny pulp.

Bella jerked upright in bed. Something was wrong. In front of her eyes she saw Jake's bedroom, but it was like there was a movie playing _behind_ them, superimposing the images over what was actually there. Trees moved by like lightning, but for her it was like regular time, like she was just walking by them. A sight caught her eyes, down and to the right, and it was like she came to an abrupt stop and looked down at it; it was a rabbit, with blood still seeping out of it. Her stomach rolled at the sight and smell of the red liquid, but a foreign emotion seemed to superimpose over her own, an anger building in her chest. _It's heart burst. Sam, it was scared to death_. The words felt like they were coming from her, but they were in Jake's voice. What was happening to her?

_Jake, dude, calm down. You're making __**us**__ angry._ Who's voice was that? The knowledge that it was Seth came at the same time she understood the feelings behind the voice. What was going on? Was she sick? Was she having some sort of allergic reaction to Emily's orgasmic cookies? The thought of Emily made her mind-the part of it that was _hers_-understand she needed help, and Emily might be able to give it to her. Fighting against the strange vision, she stumbled blindly off the bed and out of the room, trying unsuccessfully to use her vision, not the vision that wasn't real. Thank whoever was up there that Billy wasn't home, or he'd put her in a padded cell for sure. Tripping over her own two feet, she managed to get up and move jerkily towards where she knew the phone was. The feeling of relief spread through her as she felt the familiar smoothness of the plastic under her hands, but it was instantly replaced by the feeling of packed dirt, rich soil, crunching twigs under leathery skin. What the hell was going on? Shaking fingers were somehow able to push the number for Emily and Sam's house—wait, how did she know their number? Oh god, what was going on?

"-lo? Hello?" She heard Emily's voice and nearly wept with relief.

"Emily, it's Bella! Something's wrong with me! It's like-"

"Bella, sweetie, calm down. Take a deep breath for me. Good girl. Now tell me, _slowly_, what's going on."

"I don't know. I woke up a while ago, and Jake said he thought something odd was around the house, so he went to check on it. I was half-asleep still, so I just mumbled something and nodded off again. Then I woke up a couple minutes ago and it's like there's a film behind my eyes… like a movie being projected or something! And I know I'm holding the phone, but half the time it feels like there's dirt under my hands, but they're not my hands, they're something else, and I keep hearing voices. I'm not crazy, Em, I swear. What's going on?"

"I've never heard of something like this. I'm going to come over, but I'll stay on the phone. You called Sam's cell phone, did you know that?"

"No. I just thought you might know what was going on, so I went to the phone. I don't know how I knew the number, I just pressed it in. Em, what's wrong with me?"

"Honey, I know it's scary, but you need to remember to just keep calm. I'm in the car right now. The only thing I can think of is the tie between you and Jake. I've never experienced anything like what you're going through, but I've never died before. If the spirits brought you back, they might have made the two of you closer. Maybe as a precaution that anything like the accident could occur again. Hold on a second, I'm almost there. Don't freak, it's me walking in the door." The line went dead and Bella fought to hear what was actually going on. A door opened, giving her something to focus on and in a dim corner of her mind she saw Emily run into the kitchen and reach for her.

"There we go. Easy, sweetheart. I can't imagine how scary it is, but don't let it frighten you. Tell me what you see, it'll make you feel better."

"There's… there's this smell, this horrible smell that I'm—he's—" she didn't know how to word it.

"Jacob's following the scent of a vampire?" Emily guessed.

"It's like something rotting, it's that bad. He's following it, though, and he's angry, but I'm trying not to be. No, he's trying not to be." She couldn't keep her mind straight, it kept wanting to fully become the strange play behind her eyes.

"Bella, listen to me. Stop fighting the feeling and let it take over. It's okay, you're still Isabella Swan, you just need to let things come as they are. Tell me what's going on around you."

Bella nodded and fought down the need to fight it, letting the sensations wash over her. It was like being swept away with a tidal wave, being dragged under. The sounds, smells, sights, feelings became so strong she cried out and her knees buckled, but she felt Emily catch her and the seat of a chair against her back.

"Bella, are you alright?" Emily's voice was worried, and she could tell that the older woman was moving her hands along her cheeks and forehead. "Bella, you're heating up. Do you feel alright?"

"I'm okay, Em. Everything is just so strong, it's hard to not fight it." She took a deep inhale and let it out, immersing herself in Jake. "He's running towards the vampire. He feels like it's too close to me, like it's a threat or something."

"I know how _that_ is," she heard Emily mutter, and she smiled.

"The entire pack knows it can't be one of the Cullens—something about a treaty made by their grandfathers."

"The first pack made a deal with the Cullens when they first arrived that if the Cullens agreed to not hunt on tribal land, then the pack wouldn't hunt them or expose their secret to the white settlers who were starting to live in the area."

"He's so close, the smell is suffocating now. I don't know how he's breathing." Bella felt her gag reflex coming up, but swallowed audibly to restrain it. "Oh god, it's horrible. He knows it means he's nearly on top of it, though, and it's exciting him. It's like a high, like after you run a lot or eat those cookies you make." She heard a laugh, knew Emily was smiling.

The trees suddenly ended and he—she—_they_ burst into a clearing, stopping so fast her heart jerked in response. Her eyes flew wide open and terror filled her at what she saw. There was a human-no, a vampire-standing at the far side of the clearing, his skin pale, but with a sickening grey/purple tinge, and his lips were stained with blood. His eyes were horrifyingly red, like blood with sun trying to shine through its murky liquid. Bella thought she might actually hurl then, but Jake's feelings overwhelmed her, and the disgust and anger rose up so quickly she actually took a step forward, her movements mirroring Jake's.

"Bella, what's going on? Did he find it?"

"Yes, it's on the other side of a field, staring right at him. It's average sized, not that tall, but not short, and its hair is all greasy and limp, a dark brown." She shuddered. "His skin isn't white, really, its more of a grey or really light purple, like a dead body, and its eyes are terrifying. Em, they're like blood, all red and evil!" She felt a soft feeling against her, and realized that her cheek was resting on a soft shoulder.

"Easy, honey. It's alright. I've got you, and Jake's not going to let anything happen. He's the big bad wolf, remember?" Bella found that her breathing got easier as the scent of fresh baking filled her nose and soft arms wrapped around her, holding her like she imagined her mother would've, if her mother had ever noticed that she was scared.

"I don't understand, he's standing still. Neither of them are moving. Why isn't Jake or the bloodsucker-_bloodsucker_? They call them that?" She was momentarily outraged.

"Yes, they do, just like the vampires call them shit-eaters." Bella had to laugh at the fact that Em actually swore, and in such a dry tone.

"Why aren't they attacking one another? Oh god!" Out of the forest another vampire stalked, then another, and another, making four of the horrifying creatures against one wolf. "_Jake!"_

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**_A/N: _**_Weelllll? Good, bad, horrible? I'll tell you what, this thing had to be written RIGHT NOW, and there wasn't a thing to stop it! Oh, thank you .FAMOUSx for the advice! It was funny, I'd just started writing the chapter and was thinking along those lines when I checked and saw that! Lol, it was wonderful to be on the same page! Thank you everyone for reading another chapter! Please leave something behind, even if it's just a doodle-note! :D _


	14. Chapter Thirteen: Not Possible

Chapter Thirteen: Not Possible

_Jake!_

The wolf's head snapped up, as did the rest of the pack, each of them stopping wherever they were and listening closely. The sudden silence made the vampires pause, heads tilted as if curious as to what had stopped the hunters.

_Bella?_ It had sounded exactly like her, like she had when he did something stupid and she was worried, only this time… Bella was terrified. But how had she spoken? It didn't make sense at all! _Bells, is that—_

_Don't say anything, Jacob. You have no idea if that's really her or not. It could be another one of those strange powers. The Cullens have a psychic and a clairvoyant, so why wouldn't these be able to place voices in minds? _

_Sam, I really think it's her. It's like when you talk through those cups with the string in between—like our imprint __**is**__ the string. It's her, Sam. I have no idea how I know, I just do. _

_Jake, what's going on? Why can I hear you? Why can I feel you more than I can me? _

_Bella, I need you to calm down. _Sam's voice was like water and silk, easing the panic that had traveled from her to Jake. _Where are you, start with that?_

_I'm at Jake's house. Emily's with me. _

_Are you safe? Are you hurt? _Those were the top things on Jake's mind at the moment. It didn't matter that the leeches were starting to move again, he wasn't afraid of them. He was terrified that one of them was playing tricks on his Bells, or something like that just to draw the pack away from her. What if that she-leech, Victoria, had come back after being driven away? Could she be behind this? He had to get back to Bella!

_Jake, I'm okay. Other than this weird __**thing**__ going on, I'm fine. Really, Jake, nothing is happening to m—get down!_

Jake didn't understand, but he acted instinctively; the vampire that suddenly burst into motion was flipped over the enormous russet wolf that had dropped like a rock to the ground. Before it could land another giant wolf-this one only slightly smaller and black as night-had leapt from the depths of the forest to roll with it back into the center of the clearing, pinning it to the ground with vicious claws and teeth. A fraction of a second hovered in the air, where the vampires looked down at their comrade that lay under the wolf, struggling to rise, and the wolves poured out of the forest next to the first russet one. Tension seared the clearing, hisses and growls echoing between the two innate enemies.

"Opri!" One of the vampires came forward; it was the first one, the one with blood eyes and the corpse-skin. Whatever it meant, the vampire underneath Sam stopped, hissing but ceasing its thrashing. With an evil grin, it held up its hands. A sign of peace? Jake didn't trust it a bit, and he could feel that no one- not even Bells, the leech-lover – believed it for a second. "Wolf, remove yourself from my coven-brother." The zombie spoke again, his voice so heavily accented it was nearly impossible to understand the words he said. His hands were held to his side, palms forward, as if to instill confidence that he would not attack—an effort not likely to happen. Still, he went on smoothly, his head inclined in respect for the victorious wolf on top of the defeated vampire. "He is young, foolish, and not quite in control. We mean no harm to you or your kind. I ask that you step aside."

Leah growled, openly declaring that she didn't believe in their peace efforts, Sam gave her a mental order to stand down as he backed up. Jake came up to stand beside him for protection as Sam's wolf body seemed to shake from beast to man. He stood near the center, feet away from the creature just flowing to its feet, and locked gazes with that of the vampire the pack had already judged as the leader.

"I am the alpha of the pack, as I assume you are. What is your business on my lands?" Sam's normally calm voice was clipped, precise; a warning, with the full power to follow it through.

"I am Viturin, and this is my coven. We come from the Carpathian mountains and travel wherever we choose, as is common among our kind." The words were soft, submissive, accompanied by the inclination of his head to show respect for the wolf.

"How many are with you?"

"Five. One of mine is hunting elsewhere at this second."

"You will have to find prey elsewhere- this land is protected. If your coven chooses to feed on my lands, no consideration will be taken into account. Do you understand what I am saying?"

"Perfectly." Good will was eminent in the word; Jake felt something creeping down his spine, some sixth sense that made icy fear settle like a stone in the pit of his stomach. Something was wrong.

"Why were you so close to one of our homes?"

"Curiosity. You see, an enormous amount of power was felt some time ago, perhaps days, by one of us that is gifted, you might say. We have decided to search for the source of this disturbance, but it's clear now what it is."

"What do you believe is this 'disturbance?'"

A feral grin seemed to seep into the vampire's lips. "A human girl. It seems she has a vast amount of energy in her that recently became… unlocked, you might say. I imagine that is what my gifted friend is hunting for now. You see, she seeks energy like a moth does heat, and this girl would prove to be too attractive. I'm afraid that you will have to excuse us, as we must find our last colleague and make sure no harm comes to this girl."

_Bella! _Jake looked at Sam, knowing the man understood what he wanted; to get to her. Sam nodded and Jake didn't waste any time, turning nearly 180° and running faster than he'd ever before, desperate to reach Bella before the bloodsucker did. Behind him he heard twigs snap, growls, hisses, cries and howls. None of it mattered. Only getting to her.

_Jake? I don't understand. Why do you think it's me?_

_Bells, you're the only girl at my place, and that's where the first leech was going until I scared him off! Bella, you have to hide. Get to the closet, get to the corner away from the door, there's a trap door that you should be able to fit into. Get into it now! Please! There's no way you can take on a vampire, even if you do have this new energy stuff! _

_Jake, it's alright. Emily and I are already going to it. I can't really see, so she's doing most of the work. Just get here… fast. I have this horrible feeling like something's about to happen. Jake… hurry. _Her voice was trailing off, fueling his growing panic like oil on fire, and his heart rate tripled. What was wrong with her?

Jake didn't even need to be told to go faster now. He was panting with the effort to reach her in that second. But even as he pushed himself faster, he knew that there was no possible way he could reach her before the vampire did…


	15. Chapter Fourteen: Of Vampires and

**Chapter Fourteen: Of Vampires and Werewolves**

_What was wrong with her?_ The thought raced through Jake's brain and echoed in Bella's. She was wondering the same thing. While the connection was tiring, she'd been fine, her energy had felt strong until all of a sudden… it felt like it was slipping in between her fingers like sand. Her mind was becoming fuzzy, like the sights in front of her eyes, the forest and the floor starting to look strangely similar. She could feel her body becoming like an alarming combination of lead and limp noodle, like everything was too heavy to move, but at the same time jelly-like. She knew her voice was sluggish and slurred as she told Emily where the safe place was.

Emily had to half guide, half drag her to the closet, the trap door was. After careful maneuvering, the older woman found the door and tugged. Nothing. Not even a budge. "Damn door must've been made for a damn werewolf to open!" Emily shouted, kicking it. Her language was a testimony to how scared she was for Bella. The girl was turning snow white before her eyes, her lips taking on a blue tinge and the girl's brown gaze was becoming dull and unfocused. "Bella, honey, stay with me. We're going to go into the basement instead, alright. I'm going to change into your clothes and hopefully lead the vampire away. From what you told me, it can sense your energy, but at least this is a chance that it could become confused enough that it'll follow me." Emily grunted with the effort to carry Bella's entire weight down the stairs.

"Sorry I can' hulp," Bella tried to say it right, but it came out as barely a whisper.

"Don't worry about a thing, hun. Just concentrate on Jake and staying awake. If you could get a message to Sam through him, that'd be wonderful." She set the girl down to look into her eyes; her own were filled with tears with the knowledge that chances were very, _very_ slim that she'd ever see Sam again. "Isabella, tell Jake to let Sam know that I love him, alright?" Bella nodded and she kissed the small child's forehead. "Stay awake for Jacob, Bella Swan. He needs you, very much." With one swipe of her hand she brushed away the only tear she'd let herself shed over her fate and worked very quickly on switching clothes with Bella. Emily knew time was running short, so after getting Bella's clothes on she wrapped the girl in a thick blanket, hoping to keep her warm and disguise her smell. With one last sniff she ran for the door, shutting the door to the basement firmly and then locking the front door-like it would stop a rampaging vampire, but it made her feel better-before shutting it, too. She apologized to Jake and proceeded to steal his bike, which he always left the keys on the small dashboard. "Come and get me, you fucker. You won't reach that child so easily." _Hurry, Jake_, she prayed.

Bella struggled to rise from the dark fog that kept surrounding her. She felt her paws hitting the forest floor and panic racing through her veins, but it was like feeling through water, slow and distorted. _Jake, tellSamtogettoEmily_. Her voice sounded wrong to her own ears, and her heart was starting to become painful.

_Bella, tell me that again. Focus on me, stay with me. I just got you back, you can't leave._

_Um nah leaving_. That was better, but something was very wrong with her.

_Better, Bells. Tell Sam what? Come on, sweetie, concentrate. You can do it! What do you want me to tell Sam?_

_Emily._

_What about her? Is she in trouble?_

_Uhhuh. Em n…eeds Sam. __Vamp… _her energy was fading again, the slight improvement draining quickly.

_Bella! Isabella Marie Swan, don't you dare go to sleep! I'm so close, Bells, you've gotta keep awake! Is the vampire there?_

_Nnnnno._

_Where is Em?_

Bella couldn't speak, it was like the effort to talk was too much for her brain to do. She sent the memory of the last few minutes and forced herself to inhale. Her torso felt too heavy, as if there was something extremely heavy on it, and she felt like she was suffocating.

_Okay, Bells, Sam knows. Good job, sweetie. I need you to concentrate on me now, feel my paws moving. Smell the trees, the wind, feel my heart beating. Breathe with me. I know it hurts, I can feel it, but I need you to just hide in me so it goes away. Stay with me, hide in me, let me help you. Feel how much energy I have, feel the adrenaline racing through me, how awake I am. Stay with me, Bella. I need you to stay awake. Can you do that? Answer me, Bella!_

_Too… _Jake waited for more, but it seemed to come through a huge distance and was so soft he could barely hear it: _loud_. He laughed inside his mind to her as he came within the last mile of his house.

_Sorry, but if it keeps you alive, then I'll be so damn noisy you go deaf and we both have to learn sign language. _He felt her slide inside him further, felt her pain as her chest drew in air, felt the heavy thumping that was slowing his own heart. _Feel my heartbeat, sweetie. How strong and fast it is. Can you feel that it's the same as yours? Let it be yours, Bella. I'm almost there, I swear I am. _

Bella heard a loud noise upstairs and knew what it meant; the vampire had reached her. Through Jake she heard a screaming noise, deep and unbelievably agonizing—Sam. She felt the knowledge come into her mind like molasses; Sam had found Emily. Emily was dead. The world seemed to disappear for a moment before Jacob's cry brought her back. _Nooooooooo! Come on Bells, don't do this! _She dragged herself into his mind again and felt some of the pain go away. His relief washed over them both as he felt her and the house came into his view.

Jake broke through the line of trees and felt his heart stop. The door was shattered, yet there was no sound coming from the house. He raced across the remaining feet and tore the walls on the sides and top of the doorframe in his desperation to get to Bella. He heard another loud crack and raced for the basement door, only seconds behind the vampire. In that fraction of a moment he knew it was too late. When he dove through the walls and shot himself down the flight of stairs, his night vision instantly kicked in.

The vampire was holding a dead weight Bella in front of her, red hair and red eyes visible behind his tiny, fragile beloved Bella. "Come any closer and she dies now. Her energy is so wonderful, don't you think? It was so strong I could feed on it from miles away. Amazing, for a human, am I wrong?" A hissing laugh escaped blood reddened lips and grated on his ears. "Now, doggie, change back and I might let her go. She's almost dead now, so be quick."

Growling, Jake forced his bones to snap and reform unnaturally. The beautiful change was pushed into an excruciating conversion, and he drew in a deep breath before meeting the leech's eyes. "Let her go. She's just a girl."

"Oh, but she's such a tasty little girl. I don't suppose her blood will taste very good right now, with the energy sucked out of it, not like her pathetic friend's. You see, she has a few drops of energy inside of her, and once those are gone… _poof_." She giggled again and Jake started to shake.

"Let. Her. Go."

"Oh, I don't think so. In fact, I think I'll just take a little nibble out of her right now and you can watch as she dies." The fangs descended to Bella's neck—and were ripped away before she could even touch her.

Jake caught her before she could fall to the ground and cradled her close as he watched a flash of slim, tall white become a blur and make gruesome pieces out of the demonic she-devil. Before his heart could beat twice the woman was completely in pieces and more of the Cullens poured into his basement and took what was left of her outside to burn. Edward, dripping blood from his hands and mouth, shuddered as he walked over to where the werewolf was standing.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't faster in arriving. Is she…" he trailed off, searching Bella's tiny frame for a pulse.

"She's alive, I can feel it, but I think she needs help. Where's Carlisle?"

"He's with Sam and his woman. He was trying to get Sam's blood to start her heart again. I'm not exactly sure how, but he believed it was worth trying." His worried, amber-blood eyes looked up at Jake and the sorrow in his gaze was enough to make Jake pause. "I'm so very sorry about… everything. I'd never hurt her, but…" his breath hitched and Jake knew that what he felt was very real.

"It was as much my fault as yours, bloodsucker. Don't beat yourself up about it. She tried to beat me up the last time I blamed myself." His grin was one sided, but it was there. Jake heard the leech give a tiny laugh as the thin boy raised his head again.

"Thank you. I don't think I would be as understanding if I were in your position." Edward looked down at Bella with a worried gaze. "We should put her down on a bed. She's not looking very good. She needs blood, I know that, and some other medications. With the changes I can smell from her, herbal remedies would be easier on her body."

Jake looked back at Edward, who was a few steps behind him as he led the way to put his mate on his bed. "Changes? What sort of changes? And why are lee-vampires," he corrected, looking down at her momentarily with a slight smile, "after her if her smell is different?"

The vampire rubbed the back of his snow white neck in thought. "I'm not sure. She's not entirely human, she has a slight smell of dog to her, and her blood isn't as potent to our noses anymore, but… there is a type of human that attracts our kind more than normal humans. These have enormous amounts of energy inside of them. It's only found in ones that have been near death before, and that kind of contact with… whatever is _there_, effects them and changes them. As to the wet canine smell, I can only assume that sense she lived and is mated with a werewolf, that she didn't come back to life completely human."

"What do you mean 'completely human?'" She looked human enough to him, still breakable and oh-so-delicate.

"Her blood is different, can't you tell? Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, and vampires have 25. Werewolves are in between, with 24. Bella now has _24 pairs_. She's not human. The smell is entirely different. Do you understand?" The leech actually had the nerve to look _amused_. Jake felt the urge to growl.

"I get it, I just wasn't expecting it. Do you think she'd be able to change, then?"

"If you mean shape shift, I have no idea. I'd say the chances of her having the ability to is higher, but I've never heard of such a thing, so it's only a guess." Jake watched as he put two fingers over her wrist and measured her pulse, then opened her eyelids. "I don't like her pulse. It's too weak and slow, not good. You need to transfuse her, although Carlisle has the proper equipment. I believe she needs it faster than we can wait."

Jake's own pulse began to speed in fear for Bella. "How? And why only me?"

"Because your blood matches hers, you're her mate, and I have several degrees in the medical field, so you can trust what I have to say about this. I don't have the tools needed for humans, but since you're both werewolves, or at least you are and she's partially, the ways to take in blood are different. If she drinks it, it would be just like using a needle and tube in between your veins. A direct transfusion like that will work just as well as the human ways. Are you willing to do that for her?"

Jake winced. "She hates blood."

The vampire's eyes never left his. "I know." They both knew that the more she became aware, the more she fight.

Jake put his hand in between her breasts and felt her heartbeat. _Bella?_ No response. The fact that he couldn't feel her presence inside him anymore worried him as much as the way her breathing was labored, her heart was beating sluggishly. He knew it had to be painful—he knew he had no choice. _I'm sorry, Bella. It's the only way. I love you._

Concentrating, he persuaded his hand to slide from a human hand into a giant wolf paw, his fingers sliding into pads and his nails changing into claws. Carefully, with one huge claw, he cut his wrist and held it to Bella's mouth, feeling sick that he was going to force her to something she was terrified of. He waited as each minute ticked by and she began to heal. The grey tinge to her skin faded to a creamy, pale but warm color, and her lips became pink again. He felt her heartbeat like his own, strong and regularly paced. Her eyelashes fluttered and she groaned, rustling.

_Bells, I know you're uncomfortable, but just sit tight and don't move for a few minutes, okay? _

_Jake, don't worry so much. I feel your guilt and the nervousness that I might freak out. I don't want to know what's going on, I'll be honest, but stop worrying. I'd love you through anything. _

Her words brought a lump to his throat and, if he had to be completely honest, made something in his chest melt. _I love you too, sweetie._

"Puppy love," Edward muttered, and Jake laughed.

"Better than leech love," he jibed, and watched as the vampire smiled warmly.

"So says the one that doesn't seem to notice that his mate is perfectly fine now. Go ahead and lick yourself, dog-breath. She's fine." He laughed and walked out of the room, leaving the mates to themselves. Jake stuck his tongue at the retreating leech and shook his head at the fact that he was no friends with his mortal enemy-or more correctly _im_mortal. Taking his wrist back, he actually _did_ lick it, as the wolves had a healing agent in their saliva.

"Jake?" His head swung back to Bella, who was blinking and looking around. "Jake, where am I?"

"Hey, Bells. You're in my bed. Again." He loved the blush that spread through her face at his not-so-subtle innuendo. He could feel her memories start to resurface and watched as the pink in her cheeks vanished and the color drained from her face. Worried, he took her hands in his and rubbed his thumbs, trying to comfort her.

"Jake, where's Emily?" Her eyes were wide as she remembered the cry that had come from Sam and the knowledge that Emily was… dead. The breath hitched in her lungs and tears slowly slid down her cheeks. "She was protecting me." She looked down at the sheet that covered her naked form. "Em… she carried me down to the basement and grabbed my clothes and took your bike. Jake, she was saving me!" The sobs tore through her now and shook the bed. "She was trying protect me and she's _dead_ now!"

Jake wrapped the blanket tighter around her and picked her up, setting her down in his lap and holding her like a baby. "Shh, Bella. Em's alive. Carlisle came and with Sam was able to bring her back. She's in critical condition, but she's going to live. Do you hear me, Bells? Emily's going to be okay." He felt her tiny head nod against his chest and the sobs quiet.

"Th-The Cullens were here? Carlisle and Alice and Edward?"

"Yeah. Mind Boy must've heard the leeches and come running. All of them came here. They saved us. There was one that managed to get to you and… Bella, I thought you were dead. I couldn't feel you anymore and I couldn't see you breathe. I've never been so scared," he whispered against her hair and held her tighter, inhaling her soft chocolate and vanilla smell that was all Isabella. His Bells. "Edward got there and I kid you not, he had the bitch away from you not even a second before she would've bitten you." The memory tortured him at how he hadn't done anything to save her.

"Jake, shh. Edward's really, really fast, that's why he was able to get there in time. Don't feel like this. It's not your fault. I'm okay, see?" She raised her hand to cup his face in her palm and brush her fingers back and forth over his cheek. "Jacob Daniel Black, none of this was your fault, and if you think so, then I just wait until I can really move and I will beat you until your tail is permanently fixed between your legs-and it'll be the _only_ thing between your legs. I refuse to let you blame yourself all the time. How could you have known that they were going to come? You couldn't," she answered before he could say anything. "And could you have known that there were five? No. And—"

"Bells," Jake said with a soft laugh, his voice full of love and respect at this tiny, iron-strong woman. "I'm crazy for you." The smile she gave him was beautiful. How could he love anyone so damn much? His entire world centered on this one wonderful person. His heart stuck in his throat as he lowered his lips to hers and feathered over hers. "I love you, Isabella Marie Swan." Her sigh was sweet and enchanting, like the soul inside of her. With her with him, everything was perfect.

"I love you too, Jake. Every bit as much."

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" The two looked up to see a fumbling Rosalie-Bella hadn't thought such a thing was possible- and a grinning Emmett, who just had to mouth 'Go man!' and give a thumbs up as Rosalie pulled him out of the room.

"Rosalie, Emmett, it's okay! What was it that you wanted to say?" Bella was trying not to laugh as she hunched further into the blanket and Jake's arms, feeling completely perfect in that second.

"Oh, well, um…" This side of her was amazing. Bella had always thought that she was stuck up and selfish, because she never talked to anyone other than the Cullens. In a moment of clarity Bella realized that she'd been completely wrong. _She's shy_, she thought, and heard Jake's assent in her head. "I just—well, we wanted to—we were wondering—" Bella swore that if she was human, the woman would have been blushing a scarlet to rival Bella's own ability.

"We wanted to see if you were alright. As it appears that you're fine, we'll leave you two love-dogs to your lonesome." Emmett winked at Bella and wrapped around his stuttering wife, pulling her out of the door and shutting it.

Jake laughed. "Well, if that's not something you see everyday, then I'm a cat." Bella giggled and kissed him softly.

"Oh, so _that's_ why they left!" Jake groaned as the vampire-disguised-as-a-pixie fluttered in. Jasper, however, stayed well in the door frame with a slight smile on his face.

"Alice, I don't believe now is a good time for reunions," he murmured, and now Bella's cheeks _did_ heat up. With a soft chuckle, Jasper and Alice disappeared.

"I swear, if one more leech decides to open that door, I'll—" Jake was interrupted by Carlisle walking in front of a worried Esme and a laughing Edward.

"I tried to tell them!" the boy shouted, and Jake buried his face in Bella's hair. "I honestly did. They decided that the intimate moment could wait." He laughed as Bella's cheeks mottled darker.

_I'm going to whine if they don't leave soon_, Jake thought to the slight woman in his arms. Edward laughed harder.

_Leeches_…

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_**A/N:** Hurray! No cliffie this time!_ ^^_ I hope you liked it, cause it was a monster. It dragged itself out of me by the teeth, demanding "NOW!" Lol, not that painful, but still speedy like Edward. :D Questions, comments and smart remarks are encouraged! _


	16. Chapter Fifteen: Charlie

_**A/N: **__I love you people! Your responses make me so happy! I have a question for you, though. Is Bella __**actually**__ a werewolf? We all know that she's not human anymore, but will she change into a werewolf herself, or does she just have unnatural powers?_

_This chapter is especially for __**SarahxEmmett **__and __**manda2784**__, I really hope this meets your expectations! ;) _

_To everyone else, don't fear! I've gone over your reviews probably a dozen times already as well. I'm not exaggerating either. :D Much love!  
_

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**Chapter Fifteen: Charlie**

_Charlie got home in the early morning, feeling the need to just lie down on any horizontal surface and become Rip Van… he couldn't remember the last name. Honestly, he was too damn tired to care. _

_The case he was overlooking was one that was worryingly similar to the one just a few months ago. Was there some sort of gang connection, or was it a copy cat, a serial killer following someone else's example? He shrugged, subconsciously trying to get the weight off his shoulders and just be able to rest peacefully for a little while. _

_He opened the door and winced as it slammed shut just a little too loud. Nowadays, he couldn't be sure if such a thing would wake Bella up or just give her another thing to have a nightmare about. Every since Phoenix she hadn't slept very well. Although, to think of it, these last couple of weeks she'd been sleeping pretty well. Unfortunately, Charlie knew exactly what was causing the change. Or should he say _who_. Just because thought Jacob was a good kid didn't mean he didn't find it awkward that his daughter dreamt about him. There are some things a father just doesn't need to know about, and that was sure as hell one of them…_

_He felt a slight shudder go though the house and wondered if he was so tired he was spacing out. It must've been him rattling the door so hard, and he was just too old and worn-out to realize it until seconds later. _Time for bed, old man,_ he thought to himself, scrubbing his hands over his eyes. He slowly kicked off his shoes and hung his coat on the rack, making his way to his room to tuck his gun and holster away in a hidden compartment in the closet, a habit from when Bella had been little. That Stargate show had worried him briefly, but the habit had stuck in his mind after the Smith's boy shot himself accidentally while messing around with his friends. Charlie had promised that he would never go to Bella's funeral like that. _

_Speaking of Bella, she was strangely quiet tonight. Thinking that she might have tripped and managed to knock herself unconscious-after all, it'd taken him until his late twenties to outgrow that clumsy stage-he decided to go upstairs and check on her, just in case. He stepped on a stair in the middle of the flight of steps and heard a loud scraping noise. Looking down, he wondered if that had come from the step he was on. He hadn't felt anything, but then again, he was so tired he doubted he'd hear a pack of wolves breaking into the house. He'd have to fix that step, or with Bella's luck, she'd fall through it._

_ Shaking his head, he rubbed the back of his neck and continued up to the landing, knocking on her door once. "Bella?" He waited a few seconds. No sound emerged, so he tried opening the door. Damn thing was shut again. He'd have to fix that, too. He wondered for a second if he should open it and risk waking her up, or just leave it 'til morning. Then again, she was never this quiet. With an audible sigh he leaned his shoulder against the door and used years of training to shove in just the right way, sending the jammed door open with him close behind. _

_His first sight was the bed. Bella wasn't in it. His gaze traveled around the room, to her window, which he'd sworn was open when he left for work that morning, but was no closed. As his eyesight grew used to the dark, bit and pieces of something caught his gaze. There was something on the floor, scattered bits of something that was spread outward from a spot near… her bookcase._

_Charlie's hand whipped to the light switch and illuminated the carnage before him. Horror spread across his features and fear ran up his spine. "Jesus Christ," he said weakly, wavering between backing up a step and rushing into the room. Near the bookcase there was a spot on the floor that looked like someone had lit a very large firecracker, leaving a large charred spot. The shelves themselves had a huge chunk missing, shreds hanging and books either ripped to tiny pieces or blown to corners of the room. The wall had a large hole, the ceiling was pitted. _

_His eyes were held by something on the walls, though. There were lines, dots, splatters of something his mind refused to recognize. _No. _The thought raced through his mind as reality crashed in and years of being at crime scenes came back to haunt him. The logical part of his mind-shoved aside as it was-knew that something large had exploded next to the bookshelf and that the liquid running down the walls was blood. Everything clicked and he bellowed, the sound ripping from him as he took the stairs God only knows how many at a time, it went by in a blur. Within minutes police cruisers were swarming the house, someone was asking him questions that seemed garbled, and he had to sit _then_. His knees gave out and he felt a chair being pushed under him just in time. Charlie's head rested in his hands, the sight haunting him even when his eyes were tightly shut. His baby girl. Where was she? Was she alright? Where was his Isabella? _

_Fear and rage and something he didn't want to recognize stirred dangerously in his stomach as he raised his head. He would find them. Whoever did this, he would find them. He didn't know how, didn't have a clue where to start, but he'd find them. And when he did, they would pay for whatever happened to his little girl. First he had calls to make. He needed to see if Bella had gone to the hospital. If no there, then where would she hide? If she needed somewhere to go, where would she run to? _Jacob._ The thought was instantaneously in his mind, and he knew without a doubt that it was right. _

_The hope that she was alive dwindled as he called first the hospital, then the Cullens, then Billy. Jacob was missing as well, had been since early the morning before. He knew in his gut that Jake hadn't caused this, so he wouldn't have run away from the law because of that. But what if he'd been there? What if he'd seen what had happened and panicked? Or what if that was _Jake's_… he couldn't think about that, about what it would do to Billy if he told the man he suspected it was Jacob's blood… He shuddered and tried to think. If Jake were missing, where would he go to? It was hard, he didn't know the reservation as well as Forks, so the only name he could think of was Uley, Sam Uley. Since he'd worked with the man on a previous case for questioning, he had his number. Thanking whatever scrap of luck he might have, Charlie listened as the phone rang a few times and a scratchy voice sounded in his ear. _

_"Hello?"_

_"Sam, this is Chief Swan. I apologize for calling you so early, but I need to ask you a few questions that can't wait. Have you seen Jacob Black or my daughter over the past two days?"_

_"No, but I talked with Jacob just last night. Is there something I can help you with?"_

_"There's… there was a situation in Bella's room… she and Jacob are missing. One, or both, of them are…" he couldn't finish. The feeling he'd been pushing off had crept up on him and was threatening to choke him._

_"Chief Swan, let me get in touch with Jacob. I know that he's alright. I don't know how to explain to you _how_ I know, but I do. And if Jacob is alright, so is Bella. Can you tell me what you found?"_

_The strength in the other man's voice eased some of the emotion that was suffocating him. "Thank you." Charlie closed his eyes shut and forced himself to separate from what he was saying. "It looks as if something exploded in Isabella's room, large and powerful, but not what you'd expect from a bomb that size. The blast destroyed everything near it, which was mainly a bookcase, its items and the wall and floor. However, there appears to be," he had to take a deep breath, because no matter how hard he worked at it, the image still remained in his mind. "There's blood on the walls, causing the examiners to believe that someone was very close to the blast when it detonated. Are you positive that Bella and Jacob are alright?"_

_"Completely. Thank you for telling me this. I know it must be horrible. Give me a few hours and I'll find them. I swear to you that in a few hours I'll be able to call you and tell you where they are. If someone tried to harm them, they'd be in hiding right now, but I know Jacob. You have my word that I'll give you news of where they are in a couple of hours, Charlie."_

_Charlie, for some unknown reason, believed him, completely. "Thank you, Sam."_

_"You'd do the same for anyone else, so it's no problem." Charlie sighed as he heard an abrupt click and headed back into the house for coffee. It was going to be a long day, and even if he believed Sam it didn't erase the fear that ate at his gut for his child._

_"What?"_

_"She's alright, Charlie, not a single scratch. Emily has fed her with cookies and Jacob was just talking with me. It seems like there was an accident, but I can't tell you more than that. You'll have to come to La Push in a few days so that Jacob and Bella can explain it themselves. I'm truly sorry I cannot tell you more than that, but both of them are perfectly fine. Can you stop the investigation?"_

_Charlie rubbed his temple, wondering why the hell the man would ask something like that. "Sam, I'm the chief of police in a small town. I think you understand that what you asked is impossible. If I had the power to, I would, but in an area like Forks people would become suspicious."_

_"Alright." The word was drawn out and weary, and Charlie suspected there was more behind that word than he should know. "Thank you anyway, Charlie. Just… don't be surprised when it goes missing, okay? Believe me when I say you don't want to know. I'm sorry, but I have a pack of boys to manage, so I'll have to leave this conversation for Bella and Jacob."_

_Charlie was starting to become used to the fact that the man didn't know how to end a conversation, but it didn't mean that he didn't glare at the phone for a moment before hanging up as well. _

_He'd give them couple of days to themselves before he came to get her, and if anyone got in his way, he'd cuff them just because. He was done with waiting and having his questions diverted or brusquely unanswered. _

He gave them an entire day after that, but his temper had frayed at the fact that Billy-_Billy_, his closest friend!-had finally told him to stop being a ninny. He glared at nothing once more at the memory. _Fine!_ He'd stop being a ninny—_after_ he broke the man's spine. Or re-broke it. The evil thought cheered him slightly, given his rather nasty mood.

He pulled into the driveway to see the drapes flick open as he strode to the door. Billy looked back and shouted something, but before the man could finish the door was opened. _Damn_. No matter how many times he'd seen Jacob lately, the sight of him at almost seven feet was still unnerving, given that the boy now loomed over his own six feet. "Hi, Charlie." At least the kid had the sense to look sheepish and a little nervous.

"Jake. Where's Bella?"

"Dad!" All of the men turned as one Bella Swan-clad in gigantic shorts and a shirt that nearly hung to her feet-ducked under Jacob's arm and threw her arms around Charlie. He closed his eyes and wrapped her in a tight embrace, something new for them, and held her snugly against his body. He heard a sniffle and looked down at her, framing her face making her look at him.

"Are you alright, Bells?" his dark brown gaze searched her for any sign of damage. He knew Sam was right, that she was fine, but the parental instinct that had been slightly buried for a while kicked in, and he _had_ to make sure that she was 100% fine.

"I'm okay, don't worry."

"Told you so!" Billy's voice came from behind them and Charlie turned to arch a brow at him. "See, you can stop acting like a ninny now."

"_Dad_, maybe now isn't the best time to insult him. He kinda has a gun." Jake's lips pressed together, his eyebrows raised, and he nodded his head at his father as if to say _Hey stupid, you want to live longer? Then shut up. _Bella laughed as Billy just rolled his eyes.

"Sure, sure. Oh, Charlie, you might want to set that down before they start to tell you everything. Sure as hell made me want to beat someone." One of his lips curled upwards, and Charlie caught this. _Contempt?_ One sided facial expressions were a sign of contempt, but why would Billy be disgusted at something? His gaze shot from Billy to Jacob and Bella, who were looking like they wanted to gag the man.

"I think you'd better tell me what's going on, Bells. _Now_." He noticed the look that went between the two with a feeling of unease and sat down in a chair while his daughter and Billy's son sat at the couch. The feeling intensified as Bella looked at Jake and then at Charlie, then back, as if the two were talking. Finally, his daughter sighed and looked back at him.

"Dad, do you know about any of the legends the Quileute have?"

Charlie thought for a second, trying to imagine where this was going. "No. Wait, there's the one about the vampires," he rolled his eyes at Billy and continued. "What does this have to do with… what happened?" He didn't want to say 'your room' quite yet.

Jake took a breath and looked him square in the eye. "Tribal legend talks about how 3 generations ago-2 for Dad," he ignored the look he got from Billy with a grin, "these creatures called the Cold Ones came to the land. Mainstream mythology calls them vampires, but to the tribe they were known as Cold Ones, blood drinking demons. These were different from what you'd think a vampire is though, because they refused to drink human blood, so they lived off animals to survive."

"Jake, you're forgetting something," Billy said pointedly.

Jake rolled his eyes and sighed. "Another legend is about how m-people," he amended for some reason, "certain people from the tribe were able to transform into giant wolves, as sort of protectors of the Quileute. These beasts were naturally mortal enemies of the Cold Ones, but they were able to create boundaries, ones that the Cold Ones could not cross. If the vampires didn't, then the wolves wouldn't attack. If they did… war would be declared and the bloodsuckers," he winced as Bella's elbow connected with his ribs, "would be hunted."

Charlie took all this in and looked around the room. "I already know _you_," he pointed at his friend, "think the vampire one is real. What are you not saying outright to me?"

"Dad, the legends are real."

"Bella, I know you must be upset, but do you honestly—"

"Charlie, watch." Jake's voice held a strange tone to it as the boy stood up and held out his arm. Something started along his fingers, a slight shimmering in the air like heat waves, and Charlie watched as long fingers on a large hand turned into a giant paw, complete with fur sliding smoothly from the skin and claws unfurling and retracting. Even pads on the underside, a dark pink against russet fur. "The legends are real, Charlie. The wolf gene skipped a generation because the vampires went away." He looked like he heard something from Bella and turned back to look at her. Charlie tore his face away from the paw to see Bella's face set with gratitude and happiness at something he knew was being left unsaid. It clicked, as Billy rolled his eyes.

"The Cullens."

Bella looked quickly back at him and rushed forward, her eyes now filled with worry. "Dad, they're really good people! Carlisle is very caring and Esme would never hurt anyone. And you said so yourself that you think Alice is very sweet! Please believe me when I say they'd never hurt anyone! Besides… they saved me last year."

Charlie's brows drew together. "Last year?"

"Phoenix, Dad. I didn't fall down the stairs…" she looked down at her feet and Jacob took her hand in his now-human one, giving it a noticeable squeeze. "Dad, there was a vampire that wasn't like the Cullens. He was a 'human-drinker,' as they term it, and for whatever reason, I… I smelled different to them, different then regular humans…" she looked uncomfortable, shifting back and forth. "He said he had Mom, so I went to Phoenix, and… I went straight to him. If it hadn't been for them, I wouldn't be here." She held up her other wrist, the one with the strange bite marks, and it clicked for Charlie.

"Jesus Christ."

"The vampire bit me, but Edward was able to get the venom out. I'm human." She winced. "Or was."

"_Was_?" He had to sit down then, feeling his knees buckle down. Something fried for a second, and his brain could only seem to come up with _Well what is she now, if she's not human? Spock?_

"Dad, please, I'm still Bella!" The tone of her voice made his head lift, and he noticed with not a little guilt that she had tears in her eyes and she'd taken a step forward, only to be held back by Jake's hand, while the boy looked at her with love and sorrow in his eyes, then at him with anger and accusation. He was too old for changes, damn it.

"I know, sweetie. Calm down." He stood up again with a slight groan and enveloped her in a tight hug. "You could be one of them and I'd be okay with it. I was just…"

"Shocked, Charlie. Leave it at that." Billy, damn the man, was laughing.

"Yes, oh sage master, shocked." He ruffled her hair a little and sat back down, rubbing the back of his neck. Jake pulled Bella back with them and the two looked like they were conversing again, looking from him to each other, making slight frowns or grins or whatever. _I'm too old for something like this, damn it._ "Spit it out, people, you'll feel better afterwards." He smiled a little to hopefully cajole them into telling him the entire story that afternoon.

"Charlie, there are things that come along with being a werewolf." Jake looked nervous again, not quite so sure of how to word whatever it was he was about to say. "Part of it is this thing about imprinting. It's a term we use when the person finds their mate, for lack of a better word."

He had to dissect this tidbit of information for a moment. _Not being said: Bella and Jake are… 'mates.' A bit young, but she could do worse. Billy raised that kid right. _"Okay."

"What I'm trying to say, is—"

"I get it, Jacob. You imprinted on Bells, or maybe it's the other way around, but I got it."

"And… you're… not going to shoot me with that gun?" Poor kid looked surprised. And hopeful. Charlie concealed his chuckle at the realization that the giant werewolf was still afraid of the father-in-law.

"No. I know that you'll treat her right. Hell, she's got you wrapped around her finger right now, what with the way you were ready to go to the line for her against me-said person with gun-when she was upset." Jake turned grinned as Bella turned pink. "My guess is that some sort of brain thing goes along with this mate thing, huh?"

Jake looked shocked again, and Bella seemed to think he'd grown a second head, the way she was staring at him. "Yeah, but, how—"

"You're not hiding it. You look at each other, me, each other, me, and while you're harder to read, Jacob Black, Bella is an open book when you look at her face." He laughed this time as Bella's blush deepened to a light red.

"Well," it was Jake's turn to rub his neck as he looked sheepish, "that's not usually the thing that goes on, but because of what happened…"

"Which would be?" Charlie's face turned serious once more as he remembered his entire reason of being here: Bella's room.

"Dad, there are mistakes that happen. The second part of being a werewolf is that when you get upset, it becomes harder to control the change. The more angry or sad or _whatever_ you get, the harder it is to stay human and not—"

"Explode, Bella, just say it." Jake's voice was soft, his eyes looked down at the floor. A look crossed her face as she looked at him and Charlie knew she was saying something to him. She sighed before she looked back at him with sad eyes.

"Edward and Jake were having an argument in my room when I got home. They'd both wanted to talk to me about me being imprinted on by Jake, but when I got there, things were tense. I didn't realize what would happen, and I tried to comfort Jake by getting up close and personal. Edward said something that wasn't very nice, and Jake lost control. It wasn't his fault, it's happened to much older wolves than him who have had a lot longer to get used to it. Anyways, I'm fine now and that's what matters." She smiled, but neither of the men-Billy had decided to leave the room to give them privacy, so it was only two men now-noticed. The sight of the charred floor, the shelf, the books… something very large was missing from that story.

"Isabella Marie Swan, you're leaving out a large chunk of that tale, and I know it." He stood up and walked over to the two, his gaze locked onto Jake, whose jaw was ticking and eyes refused to look up from some fascinating pattern on the floor. "Jacob Daniel Black, I was there with your father when you were born. I know that face. You tell me what's going on, or we're going home." He knew it was the exact button to push, nodding towards Bella with his head and making his face _real_ serious.

He watched in amazement and approval as the boy's head whipped up and a snarl ripped through his man-sized chest. Good, the boy would stand by her. Not that Charlie let this thought on his face, oh no. But Jake was already placing Bella behind him and stepping toe-to-toe with her father. "You want to know? I lost control, and she was _right next to me_. You've seen what the place looked like. You tell me what you think happened, if you know so much."

"Jake," Bella sighed, and Charlie watched in awe once more as she wrapped her arms around him and all the self-anger seemed to melt. _Damn, he's gone for good._

"She was dead, Charlie. She was dead, and I went after her. Apparently it wasn't time for either of us, and we're here now. End of story." Black eyes met brown and brown softened.

"I can't say I'm happy to hear that, but I imagine it was harder on you then me." In one of the most remarkable acts of affection he'd shown-including the hugs he'd given Bella-he put his hand on the boy's shoulder and gripped tightly. "You're a good kid, Jake. I'm glad to know you're both okay and it's over."

"Not quite, Charlie." The trio turned around to see a massive group of people gathered. Based on skin tone-by the fact that some _sparkled_ and others had native skin- Charlie took a not-so-wild leap and figured that the ones that had white, gleaming skin were all of the Cullens-vampires- and the dark ones were the werewolves. In all, Carlisle, Esme, Edward and four others, then Sam and six others, including a pissed looking woman. _Ah, that's why he changed from 'men' to 'certain people' when explaining_, Charlie thought about Jake's amendment with an inward laugh. The Feminist Force could be strong in Bella, given the right incentive.

Billy rolled into the living room and looking out the front door and shook his head. "This used to be a private house," he muttered, to which several laugh and others rolled their eyes at him; they'd obviously heard that before.

Carlisle's eyes were serous as he stepped forward, though, and he, Sam and Jacob stepped to the center of the group while others spread themselves in the room, which now seemed far to small. Charlie noticed curiously that the wolves and vampires avoided even touching each other, although he soon found out why when his front felt like it was freezing while his back was getting burned.

"In the vampire world, there is a family that is more or less royalty, and all disputes or questions go to them. They're called the Volturi, and consist of Aro, Marcus and Caius, two of them with additional gifts. In the world of vampires, they are the final law. What they say is written in stone until they say otherwise."

"And?" One of the native boys looked impatient and frankly bored. Someone thumped the back of his head.

"They're coming here."

"Why?" One of the Cullens looked very worried, a tall and undeniably beautiful blond who looked to be about eighteen. For all her sophisticated look, she had a sweetly sensitive face, once a person looked past the beauty.

It was Alice who answered. "From what I can tell—"

"You're the future-seeing one, right?" A werewolf said, and she nodded patiently.

"Yes. From what I've seen, they want people to think that they're coming because of the deaths of the other vampires yesterday." Charlie's head looked at Jake, who just shook his head. _Later_, the look said, and he nodded. "But they truly just want to study Bella. I'm sorry, but it's true." She looked at Bella's horrified face and looked guilty.

Jake wrapped Bells in his arms, crossing them in front of her so that her back was to his front and his hands were around her middle, trying to comfort her. _As long as his hands stay where they are_, Charlie thought absently, and noticed that Edward laughed at nothing. _Great, a mind reader too_, he guessed, and watched the boy nod. Well, things could be worse. He wasn't sure how—then again, he was. Bella could be dead, none of these people would be willing to stand up against the Vulture whatsits, and if nothing else, the Cullens could have decided to eat people, in which case he'd most likely be dead or hell, let's be cheerful, not even born. Thinking of all of that, life didn't seem to damn bad. He had his daughter, she was happy, everyone was safe, and if nothing else failed, he could convince Billy to a few beers and escape the arguing children. Yep, it wasn't too damn bad after all.

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_I hoped you liked it! I tried to keep the writing to a style that I thought would fit him, the sort of simple, not-too-many-words cowboyish person, but still let pepole see a sort of understated intelligence underneath it all. . My brain hurts, but I think it was worth it! Let me know how you feel about it too! _

_**MUCH LOVE** ~Kasha_


	17. Chapter Sixteen: Imprintees

﻿**_A/N: _**_Hello! I am free for a little while! School has been so crazy that it's been hell trying to find time to write! But here I am again and I'm going to start writing again! Who needs school when you're a writer, anyway? All those english classes just tell you the wrong things anyway. ;D Thank you for being patient! And thanks for being patient with the technical difficulties! **MUCH LOVE! **~Kasha_

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**Chapter Sixteen: Imprintees**

Bella raised her head slowly. Something smelled weird, like an earthy smell colliding with the smell of hamburger gone bad. Her eyes slowly blinked and the world around her focused, becoming clearer than high definition tv. She could see the individual colors of light that were reflected off Alice's skin. There was one color she couldn't name, but if she'd had to describe it she would've said it was like the color a faerie's wings should be. It was almost nonexistent, sparkly and smooth and almost fluid all at once. It made her smile to just look at it. Did Alice even notice it?

Wait, Alice... Bella looked around and saw vampires lying on one side of the room while Seth, Quil, Embry and the other werewolves rested on the other. 'Mythological creature sleepover' was the first thought that came to mind. Speaking of beasts, she pushed herself up a little and looked down at Jacob-her Jacob-lying underneath her, his long, hard body stretched out underneath her. The words body pillow came to mind and she giggled silently. She remembered how yesterday...All of yesterday came back in a rush, making her head hurt. Strange emotions and sights and smells whirled in her head and clogged it, as if everything wanted to rush in at once. Immediately the dizziness backed off and a low humming noise filled her mind, reminding her of the slight rumble she felt beneath paws in the forest. She opened her eyes and found herself looking into bottomless black pools, night skies that never ended, her entire cosmos right in front of her. _Jake_.She felt vertigo hit her again. Every string that had ever held her bound to Earth released, snapping free and leaving her careening horribly before they snagged on one point and tightened wonderfully. Her vision tunneled and it was like there was nothing in the entire world, save her and Jacob. How had she never known she could love someone so completely, so entirely? It was like she had expanded somehow and every bit of that new space was filled with emotion for stared into Bella's large, liquid chocolate eyes. Across the mind bridge he felt the sudden stop, roll and punch as if Bella were... imprinting. Imprinting! His Bells had imprinted! On him! Or rather, with him, because he had imprinted on her and now she was able to do the same. His thoughts scrambled with the sudden giddy joy that leaped from her to him and back.

Jumping up, he picked her up and cradled her against his chest as he ran silently from the house, barely containing the wild laughter that threatened to wake everyone up. They were a blur weaving through the trees, racing the wind itself as tiny choking sounds began to escape and rolled into louder, deeper chuckles. A mile, two passed them by before Jake finally tripped himself when tears of happiness blurred everything together and he twisted to hit the ground hard with his back, protecting his imprintee as they skidded across the forest floor. Bella was shaking herself as the laughs tore through her and she crawled up his chest to press kisses against his jaw, cheeks, eyes, nose, and finally his lips. The breath that he'd just caught stopped in his lungs again as his vision seemed to tunnel around her face. The delicate cheekbones, the molten eyes, the lips that were lush and soft and wonderfully plump... those lips lowered to his and brushed back and forth like a dream, soft and just out of reach. Small teeth nibbled at his lips while a small giggle was muffled from her.

"I really imprinted, didn't I?" She pushed herself up a little by bracing her hands on his chest and raising up. Her eyes searched his giddily and sheer, unadulterated joy raced through them again. "Jake, I-you-we-" he laughed as she smiled beautifully down at him and just giggled, unable to contain it.

He couldn't help it, his lips pressed against hers and as the bursts of happiness spread through them, he rolled over and took her wrists in his hand, stretching them above her head and bringing her body more fully into contact with his. His laughter mixed with hers as their breaths tangled. Jake touched the tip of her tongue and she responded exactly as he'd hoped, playing wildly with him, not holding back an ounce of her passion.

Bella kissed him with every bit of happiness she felt in her, the feeling of finally belonging, of knowing that she was good for something at last. Her legs wrapped around his waist and she rotated her wrists, trying to free them so she could touch him.

Jake chuckled roughly, dipping his head so he could nibble on her neck, the sensitive spot he knew sent shivers through her. "Not this time, Bells. This time you're all mine."

Her breath caught at the note in his voice. "But-" her sentence was cut short as he took the spot between his teeth and did something with his tongue that made her entire body turn to energized jello. "Okay, yeah, I guess," she rasped. She heard Jake's wicked, husky laugh in her ear.

Leaning back on his knees, he ducked out of his shirt, pulling it over his head in one smooth move and watching her eyes turn to dark pools of earthy brown. A small smile played on his lips as he reached down and undid the buttons of her shirt-of _his_ shirt, he was happy to think. He figured she looked better in it right now then he could.

Cupping the back of her head, he lifted her enough to rub his lips against hers-not invading or asking for anything, just simply brushing back and forth against her softness-and slowly pulled the shirt away to lay it on the ground beneath her. Her soft sigh echoed in his ears as he lay her back down but evaded her hands when she reached for him, traveling south with his mouth, pressing kisses here and there, stopping to take one soft peak into his mouth and gently pull, causing her to suck in her breath and arch beneath him in pleasure. He showed the same reverence to the other one, and her fingers slid through his hair before he evaded again, continuing his way downwards until he was met with soft flannel. His warm breath teased her flat stomach as his fingers played with the hem, stroking soft skin, catching material and pulling ever so slowly. Jake kissed the sensitive backs of her knees, her dainty ankle, a delicate foot. Switching directions, his lips brushed petal-soft skin, warming her, causing her to melt underneath him. When he reached her lips he dipped his tongue in to stroke hers, her gentle moan more perfect then anything he'd heard before.

Bella swore she was under a spell. Her limbs were too heavy to move, her blood racing sluggishly through her veins, her body liquid warmth. And there was Jacob, her lifemate, her imprint, looking like he'd found a piece of heaven. It was all she could do to not cry at the peace and perfection of this one tiny moment. If the world were to end tomorrow, she thought, at least she would have this one day to have Jake with her, and everything would be okay.

She opened her eyes languidly as his forearms braced on either side of her head, the broad expanse of his chest, soft copper skin over steel muscles, spread before her eyes. Her breath stopped as she felt him settle between her thighs and she wrapped her legs around his hips, locking her ankles in a slow, lazy way that made him groan.

"Isabella," he whispered in her ear, and she sighed in pleasure.

Jake had never seen anyone more beautiful than her, in this moment. Her skin was flushed and a pale, creamy pink, her lips swollen from his kisses and parted so her sweet breath mingled with his, her eyes clouded and dark with love and desire. In this moment, he knew without a doubt that she was his entire world, and he meant to show her.

His hips rocked forward gently, easing into her just barely before pulling out. When she would have moved to reach him again, he stopped her with a kiss, sapping her again into a lazy stupor. Again he entered her, deeper now, but retreated in a moment. When he sank himself all the way this time she made a low sound and he smiled, circling his hips and making her arch beneath him in stunned pleasure and desire. Her blood pumped faster now, her breath coming in slow, broken sighs and moans. Jake loved the sight of her loving him.

Jake's hips built the pace, always lazy and seeing her needs first, steady and sure, until her eyes were glazed and watching his, her body following his as the tempo never hurried but grew faster and more powerful. He felt the crescendo building in her body and felt when she was on the edge and he slowed, only to build it again. When she cried out and clutched his shoulders, right on the edge, Jake finally let go and thrust into her, felt her muscles clench around his as they exploded together.

Leaning forward, he kissed her softly, gently, and she smiled against his lips. "Good boy, Jacob," she rubbed the spot behind his ears and laughed outrageously at the horrified expression on his face. Yeah, life was good...

Later, Jake and Bella walked through he forest, not even bothering with clothes as they explored each other. They found out what it was like to make love on the forest floor, to be ravaged against trees, to laugh as he took her from behind, over logs, against cliffs, to have wild sex, followed by such poignant love that they came again almost instantly. They spent the day being carefree, resting whenever they wanted and making love as often as inhumanly possible. To both, it was perfect.


	18. Chapter Seventeen: Children

**A/N: **_Thank you for being patient with the glitches! Man, THAT was annoying to fix. And YAAAAAAAAAY!!! 100 reviews! Thank you very, very, very much! And now, what you ACTUALLY want to read. :D_

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**Chapter Seventeen: Children**

Bella and Jacob arrived at the house in the middle of the afternoon and knew something was wrong by the tension in the air. Sam was pacing the floor in swift, agitated movements--not a good sign.

The vampire side of the room was nervous-looking, but when they saw the two walking in they dragged a smile onto their faces. "Bella," Esme said with genuine affection, and turned to Carlisle, as if wondering where to begin.

"Bella, there's something we need to discuss."

"You're damn right there is," Sam snarled. The pack looked shocked, mouths gaping open. Seth looked like someone had just taken a gun and put it to his head, he looked that disbelieving.

"Down, children," came a voice from the kitchen. In all of the commotion, Jake had practically forgotten Billy! Everyone turned to look at the man wheeling his chair in with deft pushes of his arms.

Billy looked around his living room and sighed, wondering whether he should be thankful his house wasn't being ripped to pieces in a battle between the two species, or alarmed at the prospect of something coming that was so bad, it brought two natural enemies together.

All in all, he thought he was handling this rather well. "Bella, Jake, everyone," he turned his head especially towards Sam, "sit." When the packleader turned and was about to growl at him, Billy raised an eyebrow. "You may be the leader of the pack, boy, but I still helped your pa in building your house and I sure as hell helped in raising your hairy hide. Now _sit_." He pointed to a chair and gave the man a look that meant business.

To every one's-and that included the Cold Ones-amazement, the man sat and calmed slightly. Billy smiled. Yeah, he still had it. "Good. Now Bella, these Vultures-"

"Volturi," one of the vampires corrected. From the tone of his voice, it sounded like the mistake had been made, and corrected, often. Billy noticed Sam's small smile. At least someone found it humorous.

"Okay, the _Volturi_ are coming here, this you already know." Bella and Jake nodded. "What you missed earlier today was a collaboration of minds."

"More like battle of the species," Paul muttered, and someone cuffed the boy on the back of his head. Good. Little mutt always had had too much confidence in himself.

"These," he waved his hand a the vampires, "Volturi are coming, but what we don't know is whether they're coming in peace." Snickers could be heard, along with the thumping of more heads and grumbling. Sam looked pleased that he, for once, didn't have to turn around and thwack them himself. _Pups_, Billy sighed.

"What Billy's trying to say," a tall, bronze-haired vampire said, "is they've been known to act as if they were peaceful, but then destroy countless lives in order to obtain one 'gifted' vampire. When children were being turned it o vampires so a woman could feel like she had a child-"

"That's just sick!" Seth said rather loudly, then hushed when he realized sound carried in the small room. "Sorry."

"It was, but what if you could never have children?" a voice asked in the back. It belonged to a stunningly beautiful blond vampire. Billy's first thought was stuck up, then changed. There was a look of being uncomfortable in the spotlight, one that Billy recognized enough to know she was just shy. "What would you do," she continued, "if you wanted to have someone to hold but couldn't because your body just couldn't?" Her tone and eyes were sad, and the bulky man behind her heard this and drew her back into his arms.

Billy felt bad for them. He'd never thought about that before. To never be able to have kids... what would it be like? No Rachel, no Jacob... No joy, really. He caught Jake looking at him and knew his son was thinking the same thing.

"It was wrong, but the point is that the Volturi went to 'investigate' the children. All were slaughtered, as were any person trying to protect them." The tall one's voice was tense as he looked towards Bella.

Bella understood what Edward meant with a jolt. He thinks that could happen here. Bella looked around at all of the people that could die protecting her. She couldn't let that happen! Seth was so young, and Alice and Edward and Carlisle and Sam... Sam had to go to Emily and make sure she was protected from the Volturi.

_Bells, breathe_, she heard Jake say in her mind.

She turned eyes that held the beginning of panic in them. _What do we do? They can't die because of me, Jake._

_No one's going to die, Bella. Take a breath. They're all here and safe. We're a family, all or us. We stick together. We'll get through this baby._ Jake's eyes, calm and sure, and his soothing hands rubbing her arms helped to settle her enough that she looked up and noticed everyone watching them with curious eyes. Bella blushed and Jake chuckled.

"So what's the plan?" he asked bluntly. Typical Jake.

"That's what we can't decide. If there is a fight, we'll need to train you and see just what Bella can do," Bella heard Jasper say.

"Me?" Bella looked almost shocked.

"Yes. You're not human any longer, so we should figure out exactly what that entails. We need to see if you can shape change or not."

"I think I would know if I could become a wolf or not," Bella said hesitantly.

"Not necessarily," Sam said, his calm and reasoning restored. "Sometimes it takes days to develop the ability, sometimes it takes extreme stress, like pain or illness. Others-" he broke off as a cell phone started ringing. Jumping up, he went outside, only to return a second later, grab his leather jacket and run for the door.

Everyone stared, not exactly sure what to think of that. Only Jake grinned. "Ah," he said. All faces turned towards him and he shrugged. "Emily's been let out of the hospital. That's the only thing that would put the wag in his tail like that." His eyes met Bella's and she blushed, finding something fascinating about her shoe. She remembered what had put the wag in his tail last, an it was NOT something appropriate for a living room full of people on it.

_Bells, if all these people were gone, we'd-_

"I think it's time that we leave as well," Edward said suddenly, his face strange. Jake grinned at him, remembering he could read minds.

Billy saw this and shook his head. "On that note, I think it's time I claimed my house again. I declare this meeting done for today. Go home. All of you. Out, out, out of my house." He shooed them with his hands and they all filed out, with much jostling among the wolves.

"You heard the man, out damn Spot!"

"Who you callin Spot, mutt?"

Billy shook his head. Children.

When at last it was only Billy, Jake and Bella, he turned to them and paused. Well, now... He hadn't thought about this. Oh, god. "Bella... you're more than welcome to stay. Just..." he didn't even want to go there. Leave Charlie to The Talk. That was a good plan. "Go walk on the beach or something. Just..." he shook his head, leaving Bella blushing a deep red and Jake howling with laughter.

_Children_...


	19. Chapter Eighteen: The Test

**Chapter Eighteen: The Test**

The morrow saw that everyone came early to Sam's house, an entire room full of people-or, rather, creatures-looking ready to begin planning.

"Whether they're coming to ask questions or to destroy her, it doesn't matter. What does matter is that-" Alice broke off when she saw Bella's pale face as she entered the room. The pixie face turned sheepish as she caught the pallor of her skin. "Sorry, Bella. I forgot that you have really good hearing now." She turned to Jasper, as if asking for him to say something.

With a sigh, he stood and addresses the room. "What Alice was _trying_ to say," he gave her an exasperated, loving look, "is that we should prepare for the worst. Doubtless they'll try to make you change," he said to Bella. "We need to know if you can or not."

"We should split into groups," Sam said, his eyes thoughtful. "Since there's more of us than you, split up so there's you two," he pointed to Carlisle and Edward, "and a couple others take the younger ones for half the day, then my group will take a few of yours and some of mine. We switch during midday."

Jasper looked over at Carlisle, who nodded. "Good. However, I'll need to take Bella and Jake aside."

Jake looked startled. "Me?"

"The key to seeing whether she has the ability may or may not lie on a threat to something outside of her. She-"

"She," Bella said in a slightly aggravated tone, "is right here, and can hear you. No need to speak as if I can't think."

Jake grinned at her fire, while Jasper smiled approvingly. That's my girl, Jake thought with pride.

"Okay, Bella. Knowing your personality, you may be more..." the vampire paused, unsure.

"Motivated?" Alice supplied, and he smiled nodded.

"Yes, motivated, if there's a threat to someone other than you."

Bella took a few long moments to wonder overturn meaning. When Jake started nodding his head in agreement, it clicked. "You mean use him as _bait_?" Bella looked horrified.

"In a sense, yes."

"No."

"Bells, it's a good idea," Jake rushed to say. Bella held her hand up.

"No. Not just no, Jacob, absolutely no! How could you even think that I'd go along with this?" She looked from Jake to Jasper like the males had lost their minds.

"Hey, I don't mind if you argue," Sam said reasonably. "Do it outside." When his back was turned to Bella he winked at Jake, supporting the idea. Jake gave him a 'you rock' sign behind her back.

"Jacob Daniel Black," Bella growled. Literally growled.

Jacob swore that if he'd been a wolf at that moment his tail would've been tucked between his legs. Damn, he was house-trained already! A thought popped into his head that made a soft smile brush his lips. As long as it was always Bella on the other side of the leash, he would never mind, because it meant she was holding on just as tightly as he was to their... well, love sounded cheesy, even to his currently sappy mind. But that's what it was. Love. Soulmates, lifemates, whatever term you used, it didn't matter. Love was all that mattered.

Edward choked, and Jake flushed a deep scarlet. _Wait until a she-leech finds you and you fall like a tree_, he mind-mumbled. He heard a snicker again but continued outside.

"Jasper, this is a very bad idea. Whatever you're thinking, I want to wait for that." She turned to her mate with a nearly desperate look in her large chocolate eyes. "Jacob, what causes you to shape-change?"

He thought about it while his hand rubbed her ear, something he'd learned had a calming effect on her. "Physical stress, like illness or pain." He grinned, looking down at her. "I stubbed my toe once when I was just getting used to the whole wolf thing. I burst out of my skin and ruined the coffee table." His eyes grew quiet, sad. "Emotional stress, too. Anger, fear... grief."

Bella's eyes turned soft and she took his hand from her ear, kissed the palm, and held it to her cheek. 'I love you, Jacob Daniel Black. I wouldn't trade any of this for the world.' The words turned his insides to mush, threatening to make him say something undoubtedly embarrassing right in front of the bloodsuckers.

"Awww, it's puppy love!"

Bella and Jake turned at the same time to see Alice looking at them in a very amused fashion. Jasper laughed, and Jacob noticed that the blond ran his hand down arm before stepping away from her. It pleased him that he wasn't the only male under the effects of the love-dove.

"Alright, Isabella, we'll start with you, but if that doesn't work, we're going to try some things that..." he winced, looking at Jake for help.

"That include me," he said simply. He was pretty sure he heard Bella mutter something about pig-headed males. His suspicion was confirmed when Alice laughed. Apparently it was a female joke...

"Okay. So... What do we do?" Bella looked tense, her muscles prepared for an attack of some sort. But it never came. Seconds ticked by, and Jasper just looked amused.

"I'm not going for your throat, pup. Relax. Actually, let's sit down. I have a feeling that'll be easier." They did as suggested, in an oval, with the mates on one end and the peaceful couple on the other. "Okay. This is going to be difficult, but if it works, it'll be worth it."

Seconds ticked by, yet nothing changed. Jake looked at Jasper and noticed a slight frown of concentration, then glanced at Bella. She looked tense, but otherwise fine. A subtle change shifted the air, he felt it, and then he heard a slight sound from his right. Looking down, he noticed that her teeth were digging into her lower lip. Her hands clenched and unclenched, her breath hitching. "Bells?" he whispered, taking her hand. She didn't answer, only let out another soft sound as her hand gripped his tighter, then reflexively loosened. "What're you doing?" he asked Jasper, suddenly apprehensive.

"I don't want to actually hurt her, so to create the physical pain I'm altering her emotions, making her mind believe she's in pain."

Jake looked worriedly between her and the other man, not sure if he should let this continue or not. It had seemed fine when Bella had asked to go first, but now that the realization of what that entailed dawned upon him, he was finding it hard to let her go through this. "I don't know about this, Cullen. It's too real-" he broke off as her body arched, her hand clamping around his, her entire frame shuddering. "What're you doing to her?" he yelled, standing to move to pick her up. A force hit his chest, knocking him back and away from her. His back hit a tree with enough momentum and strength to crack it, but he didn't pay attention to the falling wood behind him as his eyes locked with those of a regretful, somewhat unsure Alice.

"You can't. We need to see if she'll change. Believe me when I say this is nothing compared to what they'll do to find out. And they will enjoy it."

Bella's harsh cry seared his heart and he lunged again, intent on reaching her, taking her away from this. What had they agreed to? Once again the deceptively little vampire pushed him back and a growl ripped from his chest, the snarl echoing around them.

"Stop!" He watched as his mate, his Bells, writhed on the forest floor now, trying to keep the small sounds to herself. "Jasper, enough!" Jake's voice held very real fear now.

The man's response was to concentrate harder, his focus sharpening to a pinpoint. Bella screamed, unable to hide it now. All of her muscles locked, freezing her in place and she became so still and quiet for a moment it terrified Jake, froze him to the spot. Then her body arched, her eyes flying open and Jacob saw a look he had never wanted to see again. The agony that had been trapped in her eyes the day she had died was alive and swirling in her dark brown gaze that was sightless, locked inside her body.

"No! Bella! Stop!" Jacob's body exploded into that of a wolf and he shoved Alice aside to lunge for Jasper. A second force caught him off guard and hit him hard enough to change him back into a human as he tore into trees, huge brown-green trunks giving way for his torpedoing mass.

Finally he hit one large enough and sturdy enough to take his slowing speed and it shivered all he way up to its canopy, but held. Limply he dropped to the ground and stayed there, trying to get his breath back. He needed to face the new threat before it turned its sights to Bella. Bella!

With a Herculean effort he rose to his feet and started back towards the spot where they'd been. He saw Alice and Jasper racing for the spot as well and started to run, fear for her clouding his mind.

He saw the vampires stop and he did the same. Looking from one to the other, he saw there gazes stuck on a point, then angled his head so he could look at it as well from his height.

There was a ring of destruction, like a bomb had been set off, and a small crater marked the center. The trees spread out from the crater in a perfect circle, catching the eyes of the immortals, but Jake's gaze was caught on the crater. Slowly walking over to it, he looked down and stood absolutely still.

In the center of the crater, unmoving, lay a wolf, only a little larger than normal. It was a soft milk and cream white, with patches of brown mixed with black and honey colored fur, the patches covering small sections of its back and belly. Jake let out a shaky breath.

"Bells?"

No movement. He tried again, only to the same reaction. He carefully stepped into the steep hole, which was deeper than he'd originally thought. Sliding and catching himself on the slippery earth, he knelt down and picked it up gently, tenderly. He _knew_ this was his Bella. Only she could look adorable and beautiful with patches of brown on her tail, her left ear and her right front paw. Only she could make him feel this fear as she lay so still in his arms.

Cradling her like a baby, he made his way up the sharp bank, but wasn't quite tall enough to step out of the pit, so he crouched and sprung like a spring loosed from its tense mooring. He landed softly, silently, and looked at the other two. A wave of peace settled over him, and he looked at Jasper, wondering whether he should feel gratitude towards the man for it or anger for putting them through this. He sighed and settled on the first.

A stirring in his mind startled him and he looked down to see a pale body that took up less of a space in his arms. He tightened them automatically, keeping her warm and sheltered from peering eyes. The leech had the decency to look away.

"Here, Jacob," Alice said softly. She gave him a long coat to wrap his sleeping mate in tugged Jasper's hand. "Come on, love. Let's leave them alone. We've done enough today."

Jasper looked guilty for a moment, and Jake looked at him speculatively. He felt ashamed, Jake realized. The man obviously hated what he'd done. Looking from one vampire to another, he saw Alice's deep love for him and her acceptance and comfort towards him.

"Jasper," Jake said quietly. He waited until the other man met his eyes. Jake couldn't find it in him to thank his mate's tormentor, but he nodded with a slight smile. It was enough for him, and he smiled gratefully before letting the small woman pull him away, arm around his waist and head on his shoulder.

* * *

_**A/N**_: _Hey everyone! Man am I pumped about this! Right now the words are coming really easy. I really can't wait until the Royal Leeches come so we can see some REAL action!!! ;) Go Team... well, I guess since there is no competition for good ole Jake, it's just Team Bella! A team that would NEVER win a three-legged race, but that's okay. We love clumsies anyway. :D Review and tell me what you think, cause I love to hear what's going on in your minds over all of this! MUCH LOVE! ~_Kasha


	20. Chapter Nineteen: Sunrise

_**A/N:**_ _Ah, you people are awesome! I love you guys! You really keep me up and running with this! Okay, this is going to be a softer chapter, just something I thought of as it got really quiet before a huge storm came down from the ocean between Alaska and Russia! And yes, this chapter is __**exactly**__ like that; the calm before the storm! Fun! But for right now, enjoy our favorite couple having a little respite from the drama that always seems to inhabit their lives! Much love!_ ~Kasha

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**Chapter Nineteen: Sunrise**

Bella groaned as she felt herself start to wake. She wanted to stay in the nice cocoon of sleep, all nice and protected from the world and reality. Yesterday came back in pieces-- Jake, Jasper, pain, shouting, a wolf, No! Bella!

What had happened? None of it made sense, all seemed like disconnected messages that were scrambled. She turned opened her eyes, blinked at the light coming from the window. Someone please, turn out the sun, she muttered. A thought made her laugh, which hurt her ribs. Someone needs to invent a clapper for sunlight.

Then again, it wasn't like she had the energy to clap right now anyway. Taking as shallow a breath as she dared, she closed her eyes and did damage control. Nothing broken, but every joint in her body felt like it had been ripped apart by two warring toddlers, her bones felt like someone had taken a mallet to them, her head... she didn't even want to investigate the mother of all migraines she had, judging by the fact that light seared her brain, sounds seemed far too loud, she felt nauseous and her head pounded each time her heart beat. Speaking of which, why was it so loud? It felt out of place, loud and thumping against her already sore ribs. Someone needed to give it a chill pill, or something...

"Bella?" A blessedly familiar, soothing voice said next to her. Nevermind that it sounded worried, it was still her anchor in her life.

"No, I'm not. Bella has decided to take a vacation from the beating she was apparently given and I'm stuck in her place," she groaned. Bella heard a deep chuckle, felt big, warm hands wrap around her. "Nooooo," she mumbled. "No move. No move Jake."

"What's wrong, baby?"

Nothing, now that you called me that. She stifled that thought, though. While her mind was fine with everything now, her body was still asking what the hell had been done to it.

"Sore. What happened? Did you or Jasper decide to kick the carp out of me?"

"Carp?" He sounded amused, the insolent mutt.

"Don't make me swear at you, Jacob."

"Why carp, though?"

She sighed the sigh of all those who are put upon by those that are not-quite-bright. "Switch. The. A. And. R," she said with infinite slowness.

"Oh." He chuckled, amused by the way her mind worked.

"Jake," she half-growled, half-whimpered.

He sighed, knowing he might as well get it over with. She would only keep at it if he procrastinated. "How much do you remember, Bells?"

"Not much. Just... bits and pieces, really."

"Okay, then, let me 'splain... No, there is too much. Let me sum up."

"Jake, quotes from the princess bride might get you something some other time, but at the moment, because your name is _not _Inigo Montoya and your father might use really bad 'lingo' sometimes, but he is _not_ dead."

Jake grinned against the top of her head. Damn, even as sore as he knew she must be, she was still sharp as a frigging tack. "Okay, Bells. Jasper wanted to see if you could shape-change, remember?" There was a moment when he could almost hear her ruffling around in her memories. Finally, she made a sound that sounded like a yes. "Well, he wanted to use me as-"

"Bait," she said softly.

Jake felt the instant she remembered everything, because her entire body tensed against his, making her breathing hitch in pain. He stroked her back, her arms, rubbed her ears, spoke quietly to her, anything he could think of to get her to loosen up, until finally she forcibly relaxed against him, muscle by muscle.

"There we go, sweetie." He held her tightly now, wrapping his entire body around her, encasing her in living warmth. The feeling seemed to comfort them both, intertwining them closer. Jake swore he could literally _feel_ her thoughts against the insides of her mind, and he could definitely hear them more clearly.  
Had Bella's change effected her more than they'd thought it would?

"Shh, Jake. You think loud." She laughed, although it was weak and hurt her ribs to do so.

"What do you mean I think loud?"

"Oi. You were just wondering if me changing into a wolf could have changed something else, something we should worry about. And you were being loud about it. Sound, light, hell, everything hurts. Could you keep it down in there?" She smiled, feeling the rumbles in his chest that he dampened to keep from hurting her--laughter.  
_  
How's this?_

Bella jumped. Sure, they'd talked in their heads before, but it was like the sound equivalent of going from a picture so blurred you could only see blobs of color to seeing every single detail, no matter how small or fine. Okay, well, maybe they hadn't been _that _clumsy, but it was almost that amazing. She could hear Jake's voice with crystal clarity, see pictures of what he was thinking along with it, even the emotions were there. She felt like she could see herself through Jake's mind, almost.  
_  
Actually, you can._ A picture of a white wolf, not anywhere near as large as Jake's but still bigger then a natural wolf, came to the front of her mind. White fur that bordered in being like sunshine or lemon-pie-yellow, soft and long, with...  
_  
Patches?_ she thought in disbelief. _You could only come up with patches?_  
_  
It was either that or spots. Take your pick._

Patches would work, she decided quickly. Jake laughed against her, then showed her how cute she was through his eyes, the ear that was completely that mesmerizing brown, the tail that'd been dipped in chocolate, and the dairy paw that was covered with a dark brown glove. She was beautiful to him in any form, priceless.

Bella slowly raised her head and looked up into his eyes, sharing with him what she saw as well, the eyes that had no end, like a night sky, the copper skin that was so warm and smelled like cinnamon and coffee, lips she knew very, very well that she thought about more then she cared to think about, and the face she recognized as coming home. That was what he was to her. Whenever he held her like this, his arms wrapped around her and his long, muscled legs curled to cup her small body, she felt so safe and loved that she knew wherever he was, she was home. Jake's eyes softened, melted, and he kissed her tenderly, careful not to move her bruised form too much.

"I love you, Bella," he whispered, and ran his lips across her cheek, her eyes, her nose, back to her soft lips.

"I love you too, Jake. Aren't you glad I decided to drive here and face down an entire pack of wolves to make sure you were still alive?" She grinned.

"You're my hero, Bella," he mimicked the voice from Ferris Bueler, his deep and resonating voice rising an octave and becoming nasily. She laughed.

"Oh, yeah, I'm SuperBella. Complete with tripping action!"

They laughed as the sun rose and gloaming set over the land, oranges and silhouetted greys that gave way to a spectacular sunrise, coating the skies with pinks, tangerines and yellows, purples and reds, painting their mood in the early morning horizon.


	21. Chapter Nineteen and Three Quarters

_**A/N:**__ Haha, my devoted and much loved readers, I have come to tease you! Lol, not really, but it really is an added bonus ;D Hope you like this little clip from the much-awaited big scene! Much love! _~Kasha

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**Chapter Nineteen and Three Quarters...**

The fight raged around them, vampires and werewolves fighting hideously, savage sounds erupting like gunfire, hisses and growls and shouts of pain that were sure to give everyone nightmares.

A shout rang into the night, and the world stopped. Creatures froze in place, as one person collapsed and another raced to scramble and lean over the body of the first, grief etched over second's face.

"You idiot! You never got it, did you?" And now this beloved person lay on the ground, dying a senseless death that would solve nothing.


	22. Chapter Twenty: Bella!

**A/N:**_ Hey guys, I am currently thirty thousand feet up in a 737 and I love it! I think I'm over Utah, but who knows? Anyway, this chapter has been _**really**_ hard to write, but stick with it, okay? __**Keep believing**__!!! The next chapter will explain everything. Now that I have you curious and anxious, read the big scene!_

_

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_

**Chapter Twenty: Bella!**

Bella and Jacob jerked awake as a sound filtered into their sleep-muddled brains.

"Ew, gross, do you guys... Yuck! I thought you two were-I'm scarred! I need therapy! My eyes, they burn!"

Bella turned her head, which felt much better now, to the doorway, where Seth ran into the frame in his attempt to run out the door with his eyes covered.

Jake, by now, was laughing so hard the bed shook, and Bella hid under the covers. It didn't matter that they hadn't actually done anything or that they both had all of their sleep clothes on, it still felt like the poor kid had walked in on them... well, you know.

_Poor kid's gonna need counseling for the rest of his unnatural life. _Jake sounded pleased.

_Hey, do you mind? Do you have no modesty whatsoever? Seth just--I mean what if we had been--I feel-_

_You sound just like he did!_ Jake laughed harder and she hit him in the ribs, effectively knocking the wind from him.

_You are such a little kid!_

"Would you mind stopping with the mind talk? Your making a buzzing sound in my head and it's annoying me!" Leah's voice- which was usually cowish, but now was tinged with humor, for once- drifted through the open door from the kitchen.

They didn't need telepathy this time. They just looked at each other as the thought circled in their heads at the same time; she'd seen Seth. Jacob and Bella burst out laughing.

Within a minute they were in the kitchen, where Seth turned pink and found something amazing about the floor, because he refused to look anywhere but there, and especially not towards the two mates. Jake tried to conceal his chuckles, while Leah just outright laughed. Bella felt like Seth all over again and socked Jake in the solar plexus with her elbow this time.

"Jesus, woman! Ever since you became a-"

"A what, Jacob Daniel Black?" Bella turned and her embarrassment turned to angry curiosity. "Finish that sentence, _dear,_" the endearment dripped with sickly sweet poison, "I'd like to hear it."

Translated: Finish that sentence so I have full justification of ripping your tongue out through your spleen.

If they had been in wolf form, he would have tucked his tail between his legs, laid down and presented his belly to her in submission.

Then again, if they had been in wolf form, she probably would have taken a chunk out of his hide by now, if not his entire ear.

He smiled innocently. "I was going to say a lovely young lady, whom I love very much."

A snort made all their heads turn to Seth. "Sorry, sorry, but that was bad." Leah thumped the back of his head. "Hey, what was that for? You agree, too, and you know it!"

She thumped it again. "The first was just cause, the second was just cause I can. Go on, pup, before they start _really_ making things bad." She wiggled her eyebrows at him suggestively, and he shot out of there before Bella could finish turning pink.

Leah turned back and laughed at the other girl's face. "Relax, babe, the rest of us are all perfectly mature adults. We won't share details if you won't." She winked and Bella covered her face with her hands.

"You're horrible, Leah." Jake laughed, though, and pulled Bella's face-and hands-into his chest, wrapping his arms around her to shelter her. "So what'd you try to have Seth tell us before he got distracted?"

Leah laughed. "Just that everyone needs to get up. Plenty of practicing to do, and since the leeches don't sleep, they've already mapped out battle plans." She rolled her eyes on principle, even though it was something she would've thought of herself if she didn't have to lose 8 hours each night to the realm of shadows.

Jake and Bella met everyone in a secluded part of the forest, a spot where humans would have great difficulty reaching.

"Bella." She turned to see Sam looking at her rather oddly, Seth beside him.

"Yes?" her voice was just the slightest bit apprehensive. Sam smiled.

"Breathe. We need to borrow you for a minute. After that we can let you go back to making googoo eyes at Jake." Jake started to chuckle. "I mean _with_ Jake." The man grinned wickedly as the younger one groaned dramatically.

"Yeah, sure." She smiled and winked at Jake before heading off after the leader and boy.

Jake wanted to check in on Bella, but even after an hour he found that whenever he started to worry, he would be distracted, or suddenly stop feeling anxious about it. He looked over at Jasper, but the man wasn't even looking at him. What was taking them so long? It'd been over an hour ago that they had decided to "borrow" Bella, and they still weren't back.

A feeling swept across the nape of his neck-his grandfather's spirit whispering to him-and he reacted instantly, ducking to send his attacker half over him, then standing powerfully to flip the man harshly onto the ground. Jasper rolled with precise, trained movements and stood.

"You are distracted. How are you supposed to fight when you always think of Bella? Your head cannot be in two places. Focus." There was no censure, only a calm understanding as Jasper looked at Alice, saying without words that he had to concentrate on that aspect of being a mate himself.

Jake gave a slight smile. "For someone who was distracted, I managed to get you off soon enough."

Emmett, across the field, laughed loudly at this as he fought Paul.

A whoosh of air was all that signaled an attack, and Jake barely dodged the claws extended towards him. He burst into his wolf form out of habit and shoved back.

"You have a natural talent, yes, but that is not enough. Work with me for a time, and I will help you hone that talent." When Jake started to glance at the way Bella had left, Jasper caught his attention. "What would happen if you tried to protect her, only to end up killing yourself? What would happen to her?"

Horror dawned on the werewolf's face as he remembered. If one mate was injure or killed...both were. His eyes locked with Jasper's and he slid back into being human.

"I get it. So how am I supposed to _not_ worry about Bella?"

The man shrugged. "You don't. You just have to train yourself to not act on that worry." Jasper gave a grin that told a long story about the time and effort it took him to accomplish this deed.

The tall man made a face and raised his hands, palm up. "Fantastic. So what took an old man years to learn I have to figure out in a day, is that it?" he was about to make a pissy comment when he felt eyes on him. Turning, he found Bella, Sam and Seth struggling to contain chuckles.

"You," he said, pointing at the boy, "do not _even_ start laughing. I can take you down with my pinky finger, boy. You," he turned to the packleader, who's quiet eyes were glinting with mirth. "Don't you have a mate somewhere that feeds you and smothers you with kisses and cookies and muffins? Go get fat." Bella raised an eyebrow as he turned to her. Her deep brown eyes looked from the pointed finger to his face, back, and back again and her brows arched. He started to put the finger down automatically at that look and then stopped. Seth howled with laughter. One glare made him get it under control, but didn't smother it altogether. Jake looked back at the mate who had made him worry so much in just a few hours. His hand raised again, but this time his hand was palm up and wagging a couple times as his fingers curled inwards and relaxed. "You, you come here."

Bella laughed that wonderfully smooth laugh and went into his outstretched arms. His lips silenced her as he dipped her backwards. Catcalls rang in the clearing and Bella giggled, something rare and precious to her mate. His smile neglected all the wolves and leeches around them as he kissed her softly.

"What a touching scene. Isn't this wonderful brothers? A romantic view of puppy love!"

The sickeningly sweet voice made the two lovers-and everyone else-turn quickly at the hooded figures stepping out from behind the tall pines that ringed the clearing. Red eyes made Bella shudder-in horror, in an effort to stay human-as her eyes met those of the leader and the rest of the Volturi.

"Welcome, Aro" Carlisle said diplomatically, stepping forward as Sam did. "It has been a long time."

"Too long, my old friend, if I find you in such company." A laugh was shared among the royalty and their guard. There were so many of them... Bella looked at Jake, sharing the thought.

_Jake, there's no way we could fight them and not die. At least not all of us._ She left out the part where she knew there was no way she could fight vampires and win, but he caught it anyway.

Stepping closer, Jake looked directly into her eyes, his own solid and absolute. _We will live, Bella, because there is no other option. I will not let you die just because of some royal leech. Do you understand? _His gaze seemed to press into her, his will unchangeable. _You will fight, just like I will and Sam will and even Seth, and we will get through this because the alternative is unacceptable. _He gave a wicked smile. _And besides, you'll find out that it's not that hard to take them down, now that you're one of us._

He turned back to see Sam talking now, trying to be polite when the pale man was being insulting without actually saying anything overtly. Jake commended his leader's patience, because he'd only been listening for a few moments and he wanted to rip the thing's creepy face off.  
"She is of no concern to you, vampire. She is one of my people, under my protection and that of my pack." Sam's voice held a note of warning in it.

"Yes, but she is a special case, I'm sure even one such as yourself would agree." Aro's face was almost welcoming, but his smile held an angle, a sheen, _something_ of cruelness to it that made both Bella's and Jake's spines crawl.

"Aro, I am afraid I must agree with Samuel on this matter. Bella, while she is special in a number of ways, is no threat to our world, therefore I do not see any reason for a personal visit from your guard." _And you_ went unsaid, but hung in the air between the blond, peacekeeping man and his dark opposite.

"Ah, but my brother, you never did look at the whole picture. She is so catching, don't you think. So much life, so much energy, so many unique aspects." The dark haired leader's eyes held hers and she shuddered harder, only Jake's warm body next to hers keeping her from running or bursting into her canine form. "Bella, dear, come here. There is much to discuss."

Sam bristled. "You have not listened to me, old one. She is one of mine and will not be submitted to orders from you or your kind. I will say this for the last time: Leave. My. Wolf. Alone."

Bella was torn between wanting to save everyone from fighting by stepping forward or not letting Sam down by staying where she was.

Carlisle saved her from making the decision by stepping between the two men and looking firmly and calmly from one to the other. "This doesn't need to be a conflict. Sam, let Bella step forward for a few minutes, and answer some questions." He looked at his own leader like an equal. "After that, she will be left alone." His tone left no room for argument from either man, although Aro did raise his brow at Carlisle's irreverence to him.

"Of course," the red-eyed vampire said surely.

Carlisle looked to Bella and she drew in a deep breath, fighting to contain her shaking. As she slowly approached the three, she noticed the smell emanating from the royalty was oppressive, not just the dead smell that lingered over the Cullens, but an overpowering odor of rotting meat, of thousands of dead carcasses. It made her cringe, just as Aro did when she stopped within arms reach.

"Oh, my dear, how unfortunate." He held up an overly sweet perfumed handkerchief to his nose.

"I'm thinking so right now, too," she said before she could censor herself. Carlisle looked taken aback, but not nearly as much as the prince. He looked absolutely horrified.

"Why you-" he hissed.

Carlisle held up his hand. "Aro, don't. She is just getting used to the changes in her body, and her sense of smell is different from our own. To her, we smell...well, rather like something dead." He shrugged with an apologetic smile. "She is still new, my friend, take no offense."

Bella's shakes began to increase at the sound of the evil man's hiss, and now she couldn't seem to stop. "Bella," Sam said softly, and she looked back at him nervously, then at the leech leader.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult you." She wrapped her arms around herself to contain the tremors.

"No harm, my dear." The name made her skin shiver more, chills running down it. "If I might inquire so on your self-control, may I ask for your hand?" Bella looked startled, and he chuckled. "I can see your past through it, and it would save you the time and effort of telling me what has happened."

Edward stepped forward now, looking apprehensive. "Sire, there might be a problem. I cannot read her thoughts, so it might be possible that your gift-"

"Nonsense." The word was short, clipped as a frayed temper began to singe. "I will hear no more. Hold out your hand, my dear," it was almost sneered, "and we will see this time done."

Sam growled, but Bella held up her hand, trying to keep everything-the situation, her own body threatening to burst-under control. The vampire gripped her hand too tightly and she winced, making Jake start to growl as well. Even the other bloodfeasters took a step closer as Aro's face drew pinched. His sickening red eyes locked with her earthy brown ones and she felt a prickling along her mind, a sliding sensation filled with sharp pins and needles.

Finally he tossed her hand aside and hissed. "You are most _interesting_, Isabella." His voice was a staccato beat now, terse and completely unlike his smooth, even speech from earlier. Agitation-or maybe it was irritation-carved his once smooth face into hard features. Where he had once seemed handsome, in an aristocratic, aloof sort of way, now he looked monstrous, like Dracula himself. He turned back to her with a wild look in his eyes, dangerous.

Then the moment passed, and he was charming and suave once more, his features schooled into serenity. "If you will excuse me for a moment, I must consult my brothers on this matter." Without waiting for an answer, he turned on his heel and was across the field in a preternaturally fast speed, but now it was like slow-motion to her wolf eyes.

Jacob was at her side in a moment, his eyes both furious and worried. "I'm okay, Jake." She leaned her head against his chest, trying to control the shakes.

_Easy, Bells. While it wouldn't kill me if you changed now, even at this close distance, it would still do a lot of damage_. His grin echoed in her mind.

The thought jolted her enough that the shaking nearly stopped altogether, and with his help, she was able to breathe the rest of it away.

Alice looked up, horrified, and turned just as one clawed hand caught her on the shoulder. Jasper made a terrible noise and shoved the blond prince, Caius, so hard he fell back into the tree line, and before any of them knew it a full battle raged.

Vampires poured out of the forest, and the Cullens and wolves did their best to fight them off, but when she saw Jake fighting two-no, now three!-of them, she knew suddenly without a doubt that they would not get out alive.

Bella looked over her shoulder to see a particularly vicious vampire rip into the wolf she knew was Leah, and pain burst through the entire pack as it spread across the mental bond. Paul shouted, turning rabid and ripping the bloodfeeder in front of him to shreds before running almost as fast as Edward or Jake to stand over her, a snarl over his muzzle so wild and feral that scared even her. But even as mean as he was, there was no way he could fight _and_ protect Leah at the same time.

The pack was falling.

Seth's shout burst into her mind, along with Sam's order at the same moment, and with no thought for herself Bella changed into her human form again, startling her attacker enough that Seth was able to leap in and protect her while she was vulnerable.

_Bella, __what're__ you doing?!_ Jake's panicked voice screamed in her head as he fought to reach her through the crowd of vampires that just kept growing thicker around him.

Bella smiled at him with tears in her eyes as she began to sing, a hauntingly lovely song that drew a visible web into the air. Fighting stopped slowly--the web wove vampires and werewolves alike with its threads, rainbow colors streaming inside it when touched by sunlight.

Jake could only watch in horror as the threads spread outward from his mate and caught even him in its sticky snare. It was like a spider's web, or...more like the tangle of a dreamcatcher, always intertwining, meeting, connecting them all. But even something as beautiful and terrible as the sight of the thousand thread web of magic couldn't erase the fear that pounded through his blood, his eyes locked with hers.

_Bella, Bells, what are you doing? Stop!_ he felt the power coming through her, from her, and with each passing segment of time he felt the enormous amount of energy that had always been inside of her slipping away. Bella was killing herself to keep them safe. Him, Leah, Sam, Seth, everyone, even the royal leeches! _Bells, please, it's okay now, we've stopped now. You can stop now._ His wolf form slipped away and he moved to step forward, but the thread that bound him only shifted with him, holding him in his spot in the dreamcatcher's web.

_I'm sorry, Jake._ Tears clouded her eyes as her husky, earthy-mist voice grew louder and the magic strengthened and spread across the entire field. _I can't stop._

_Look at me, feel me. You can do this. You can stop, just feel my mind in yours._ His voice was frantic in her mind as he raced to find a way past the magic and get a hold on her mind.

The tears slipped down her now pale cheeks as the song crescendoed, and he felt all of his wounds heal, flesh sealing like water streaming together. Shouts of surprise were heard from the vampires-those still alive-as chunks that had been taken from their dead flesh grew whole once more.

Bella felt the tears fall faster now as energy pounded through her, so hot it seared her from the inside out. It felt like spontaneously combusting. Howls began as it spread to the pack through the link, even though she was in human form. Sam and Seth looked at each other, horrified. A glow began to emanate from Bella as the energy reached an agonizing peak. Still, she sang, the words coming from some buried instinctive place, the lilting words a plea for peace and life.

Jake watched as her feet nearly lifted from the ground and a blinding light poured from her skin. Fire ripped through her body-his, the pack's-and just as he thought they'd catch fire, it stopped.

Silence.

Emptiness.

The magic held them in place as he watched as if in slow motion. Bella's eyes locked with his, and he saw a small smile bow her sweet lips. _I love you_ rang in his mind as her body, no longer gripped by the energy, fell to the ground and remained still.

He heard a sound from a far distance, a roar of pain and terror and grief. Someone was yelling Bella's name.

It wasn't until the magic finally shattered that he reached her, still screaming.

"No! Oh god, Bells, don't do this. Not again. You idiot, you never got it, did you?! Bells!" He lowered his forehead against hers and reached for her mind, panic making him clumsy in his search.

He felt nothing. Not the constant presence in the back of his mind ever since their joining, nor the ripping sensation that had come right before the melding.

There was nothing. A vast, open vacuum of nothing. It was like sensory deprivation, no sound, sight, touch. His soul screamed in loss, at the blasphemy of nothing after loving Bella so deeply.

Hands tore at his shoulders and he raged, snarled, weeping and clutching the empty shell of his love. It took Sam, Paul, Embry _and_ Quil to pull him away, and even then Emmett and Jasper had to hold him back while Carlisle examined her. The defeated expression in the man's eyes sent agony through Jacob all over again, the screams of grief going down to his heart, his soul.

"I'm sorry, Jacob. She's in a coma. It... it doesn't look very good. I don't think she'll...that she'll come out."

Sobs tore at the werewolf's chest as his knees gave and he covered his face with his hands. He couldn't even go after her, because she wasn't even dead! She was gone, faded away, not passing on! How could you look for someone whose energy you couldn't feel-- even when your _souls_ were bound?

He smelled dead flesh and old wine and snarled, turning on Aro with eyes brimmed with madness. He had the evil creature's throat in his hand in less than a fraction of a second, but Sam put his hand on Jake's forearm.

"Don't undo what she paid so much for." Sam's voice was heavily laced with sorrow and guilt, although Jake didn't know why for the latter, nor much cared at that second. He just saw the dark haired leech and knew that because of him, his mate was dead. No, not even dead. She was stuck in a realm he couldn't follow her to, couldn't find her. Where was her soul now? Where was she trapped, scared and alone for the rest of eternity? Jake would be separated from his mate forever now because of this _thing!_

Bella would never hear him say how much he loved her, how much the smell of her hair comforted him, or how he loved that patch of skin right above her collarbone, that one that always made her smile and giggle when he nuzzled it. Or how he wanted to marry her, take her away and build her a home like Sam had for Emily, a place where he could give her children and love her in. Jake would never have this, because Bella would never wake again!

Shudders racked his frame as he lowered the man to the ground. "Get out." He turned on his heel and walked back to her still form, so beautiful and pale in the dying light. Tears clogged his throat and burned his eyes as he knelt and picked her up, ignoring the mass of people around him. Without turning back, he walked towards his house, wanting time to hold her before he had to tell Charlie that his girl wasn't going to wake up.


	23. Chapter Twenty One: The Dreamcatcher

**A/N:** _Okay, I couldn't let you wallow in despair like poor Jake, so feel better, my beloved readers! I love this chapter very much! And don't worry, there's more after this. It's not quite done yet!_

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**Chapter Twenty-One: The Dreamcatcher**

Charlie stood over the still body of his daughter and looked down in disbelief. This wasn't her. She was never so still, always tripping or laughing or cooking. This wasn't her.

But it was. He sat down roughly on the chair next to the bed and put his head in his hands.

This was Bella, the girl he had carried on his shoulders, who he had just gotten to know again. Words couldn't be found to describe the grief that tore through him as his little girl lay on the sheets, looking more pale than ever, her breathing even.

And empty. She was so empty, he could feel it in the way he couldn't feel any of her old vibe that used to reach out and draw a person in. She was hollow now, and he couldn't begin to imagine how he would go through life without seeing her smiling face as she cooked and he watched a damn game!

"Charlie." He looked up sharply and saw Billy in the door frame. The man's face was almost as ravished as his own. "Come on, old boy."

"And do what? Fish? Watch football? Do _what_ Billy? Tell me what I should do, cause I can't think of a damned thing while my daughter is lying here and won't wake up." His hands unclenched as he put his head back in them and gave into the rough tears that wanted to break him.

Billy wheeled over and just sat next to him as the grief poured out of him. He had outlived his child, and nothing seemed to make any sense or matter. Hehadn't told her often enough that he loved her, that she was the bright spot in his day, that he was so damned proud of her.

A hand clamped on his shoulder and he looked up to see black eyes filled with the same pain. Jacob knelt beside the bed and the three men were silent for a long time.

"She was happy, Charlie." Jake's voice was torn apart and sounded like it had gone through a grater. Charlie supposed in a way, he had been. He looked at the kid's face and saw the exact look Billy had worn on his when his wife had died.

"She saved all of us, and she smiled before-" Jake had to stop and his jaw clenched.

Charlie put his hand on the boy's-no, he wasn't a boy anymore- shoulder as well and got up.

"Bella was happy, Jake. Any time you were okay was when she was too." He and Billy left the room as shakes started in Jake's torso. He closed the door behind him to give the man time alone.

"He doesn't sleep anymore, Charlie. When he does, all he can do is toss and turn and scream." Billy ran a hand over his face. "What the hell am I supposed to do? Tell him he'll find someone someday and everything'll be alright? Jesus, they're-"

"It for each other, I know." Charlie shoved his hands in his pockets.

"It's been three days, and he just can't stop. I'm terrified he's going to do something stupid, but for now all he can do is sit in that god-damn chair and look at her! What the hell are we supposed to do?"

Charlie fought down his grief and shook his head. "I don't know, Billy. I guess we have to find a way to get by. Maybe... maybe someday it'll be enough." He left quickly, before he started to cry in front of his friend.

Jake felt a hand on his shoulder, this time large and firm, unlike the other times when his father had tried to make him sleep or eat.

"What do you want, Sam?"

"We came to apologize. And maybe a way to fix what we did."

The words made Jake turn and stand, looking Sam in the eye with the startings of anger.

"You 'borrowed' her for an hour, and after she comes back she knows how to tie all of us-even the fucking leeches!-together to make us stop fighting. Is _that_ what you're talking about?"

Sam nodded, and behind him, Seth looked away.

"It's my fault, Jake." The quiet voice made Jake's gaze whip towards the small boy.

"What did you say?"

"Seth-" Sam started, but Seth wouldn't have it. His head raised and his eyes held complete guilt and so much anger at himself that both of the older men knew this wasn't the same boy who had gone into the fight.

"No, Sam, I did this! I thought I was so smart when I found the records from the previous packs! I was so _fucking_ sure I was bringing something amazing to the group. Look at her! I did this!"

Jake stepped forward, and to his credit, the kid stayed where he was. "What. Did. You. Do." The words were deathly quiet. Lethal.

"It's not all his fault, Jacob." Sam's voice was calm in the middle of a hurricane. "I helped him. Seth found records that describe how some of the members of previous packs had worked. Some kept detailed log books, others trained younger members, some were even liaisons of sorts to other tribes and other _packs_ in far away places." He took a slow breath and let it out. "It also explained about the alphas."

Jake's anger turned to confusion. "I don't understand."

The older man shook his head. "I am _a_ alpha," he said slowly. "But I am not _the_ alpha. The Uleys have never been the leaders, Jacob. I am an alpha by age and experience. Not by inherent right." Black eyes locked with black.

"My grandfather," Jake said softy, all the air taken out of him. How had he not guessed?

Sam nodded. "Yes. Your great-grandfather was the alpha, as was his father and his father before him.

"But that's not just it, Jake," he continued. "It spoke about the other alpha."

Jake looked confused. "What other alpha? There's only one."

Seth shook his head. "No, there wasn't."

Sam rested his hand on his shoulder, gripping to try and comfort him. "This was back in the time of tribes, so it wouldn't make much sense now, but it was natural then. The alpha male's mate was the alpha as well. There weren't any women wolves back then, but she was still an alpha, and she made decisions as much as her mate. She also had a place in the tribe as the shaman, the healer woman, because it was said that she had special powers."

Jake remembered all the ways Bella had been special and nodded, unable to trust his voice.

"She was also called the dreamcatcher."

Jake's head snapped up now, his eyes haunted by the sight of the web Bella had woven in the clearing.

"The... dreamcatcher?"

Seth nodded. "The records and legends said she was called that because that's what she was. She was all of the dreams of the pack caught in one person. She was the force that kept bad things out of the tribe and let only good energy in."

Jake sat in the chair with a heavy thud, trying to forget the way Bella had had so much energy, always giving so much of herself and never even realizing it. He wanted to claw his eyes because he couldn't stop seeing her laughing and smiling, the pull to her almost magnetic—and not just to him, to everyone around her who was in range of feeling all of the life that was inside of her, all of the willingness to give!

"There's something we've been thinking, Jacob. Something that might bring her back."

Now he raised his head, hope that he so desperately wanted to keep flaring in his eyes. "What?"

Seth and Sam looked at each other, Seth questioning, Sam nodding. Turning back to him, Sam smiled. It wasn't a sad smile, but one of hope and happiness. "Emily is pregnant, almost 23 now, and I'm still 21."

The younger man looked perplexed. "What has that got to do with it?" he puzzled, trying to find the connection to Bella.

"It means she's getting older, and our children will too, until they becoming wolves as well. But I'm not." He leaned against the dresser, looking nonchalant. "Emily and I have talked about it, and we've decided it's time I passed on the mantle."

Now shock registered on the wolf's face. "Pass on the mantle?" Could it mean what he thought it did?

"Pass on the responsibility of being an alpha. If anyone is ready for it, it's you, Jake. You've seen enough hardships to understand the pack and everyone else involved, and between you and… you and Bella," he steeled himself, and watched Jake flinch. "Between the two of you, you have a clear head on your shoulders. She'll keep you in check, just as you will her."

Jake ran his hands through his hair. "That's nice, but there's a problem," he rasped, looking at his mate, or rather her empty shell. His heart throbbed in a sharp pain.

"We said we might be able to find a way to fix what we did," Seth whispered, catching his attention again.

"How? I can't even find her. It's like she just faded away and there's nothing left but the outside!" He shoved away from the chair and stood so abruptly that the large piece of furniture tumbled over with a loud rumble that sounded like thunder and rolled through the floorboards of the house.

Seth stood his ground, looking with the same hope Jake had had just a moment ago. "You know the pull of the alphas. We think the reason she was lost in the first place is because there wasn't the same pull for her towards you to ground her. It's like she was pulled between two gravities—those to her alpha, Sam, and those to her mate, you. If those gravities are aligned, we think it'll pull her back again, like the homing beacon all the alphas have. It might be enough to be like magnets, cause you're both alphas and you're mates, so it'll pull you back so tight there's nothing that can pull you apart."

"Not death or the enormous amount of energy she caries in her soul." Sam stood up from the dresser now, confident once more.

Jake felt the hope stir into something terrible in the fact that if it didn't work… he would be broken. It would shatter him so hard he wouldn't be able to find himself. He was holding on by a sliver now, but he wasn't living. Not really. He was existing. If this didn't work… he thought he might do something he couldn't undo, just to get away from the pain.

He looked up at the two and steeled himself, making himself strong again. "How do we do this?"

The clearing was dark to human eyes, but the full moon was more than enough for the group gathered around the still body that lay so still and unmoving. Bella rested in the center of the circle, a close knit grouping that was silent but hummed with hope and determination. The first layer of the circle, the one closest to her pale from, was the pack and Emily, who sat next to Sam. Sam and Jake were at Bella's head, which was pillowed by her mate's lap. The pack was sitting cross-legged, while the rest stood, all but Billy, who sat in his chair, gaze unwavering.

The outer layer was filled with the elders, Billy, Charlie and the Cullens, added because they were a part of her life as much as the rest of them. While she only knew the elders through Jake and the others, they were an essential part of the Quileutes, so they were a part of her by her inherent wolf from. In another time, she would have led them and the rest of the tribe side-by-side with Jake.

Jake looked at Sam, who looked back and nodded. Jake felt the bond of the alpha to his back and snapped it, feeling like he was free-flying for a moment. Sam winced, but didn't say anything. The others followed suit and Emily took Sam's hand as he paled, but still he didn't make a sound. Jake suddenly felt all of the ties that the others formed, like a circle with him in the center, and felt the weight of it for a moment. Once again his eyes locked with Sam and the other man smiled, knowing how heavy it weighed at first.

The energy began to build, and Jake felt the way it funneled into the center, like the homing beacon Seth had talked about. It was like a the webs of a dreamcatcher that wasn't tied to a central point, but was ready and lay in the position, eager to be anchored.

Jake felt something in the back of his mind and his eyes grew wide.

_Bella?_ He reached as far as he could with his mind, searching for a feel for her.

_Jake? Jake!_ He felt something reach into his mind and lock itself there. He knew instinctively that it was Bella's soul, locking into his to keep herself from floating away. He grinned like a loon and pulled the thread that was strung tight between him and her closer, like a lasso had been thrown around her and he was pulling it towards him. He concentrated for a few moments, fighting to pull her soul towards his, and then it snapped together, like a magnet. There was a burst of energy that knocked them flat on their backs, blowing Billy out of his chair and sending Charlie flying. Jake scrambled to his feet from his position on his back.

A blinding light was raised above the ground by several feet, higher than Jake's head, and it pulsed, sending colored threads around, swirling, spinning ties to each person. _The Dreamcatcher_. Jake looked in awe as the threads grew stronger and he felt the energy and joy fill him up. The energy slowly released them and the threads retreated back into the white ball of light, but the feeling was left behind, the tether to her unbreakable. The pulsing light stopped spinning ever so slowly and started to dim, showing glowing skin first, then just pale skin. He caught her as the energy left her and dropped her from its power. Her eyes were closed, her breathing still even, but not so shallow, and he felt the pull to her, the energy inside her once more that drew people in.

"Bella?" he whispered in the silence, and he held his breath.

She stirred first, shifting closer towards him, then opened her eyes and blinked. Realization cleared her sleepy eyes and complete delight lit her face. "Jake!" She flung her arms around him and kissed him. Jake wasn't ashamed as he felt tears rolling down his cheeks, down hers, and he pulled her tighter to him as he kissed her with all of the joy and love he felt, wild and wonderful. She kissed him back just as excitedly, hotly, and a roar of noise started as everyone saw the couple whole once more.

Bella leaned back and the two lost themselves in their eyes, molten brown and solid black grinning into each other. Bella laughed with delight as she was passed around like a favorite teddy bear and hugged and kissed so many times she couldn't stop laughing. Jake was slapped on the back so many times he'd have bruises later, and by the time he was allowed to have his mate back, everyone was talking about a bonfire the next night and a celebration, and even the Cullens were invited. The treaty was reset for no boundaries so that they could come and go. Emily announced the expectation of her baby and more shouts went up in the pack, Alice instantly demanded a baby shower-or several- and this time Emily was passed around and it was Sam's turn for back slapping. Jake let go of Bella long enough that she could hug Emily tightly and the two could smile tearily at each other.

Bella finally made it past the others and found Charlie and Billy. "Dad!" she rushed forward and Charlie gripped her so tightly that if she'd been human she would've had broken ribs.

"Bella," he whispered, and held her while she started to cry again. "I'm so proud of you, baby." He pulled her head away from his chest and brushed away his little girl's tears. "And this time, I did _not_ tell your mother." He grinned as she laughed and sniffed at the same time.

"And what about me? I'm the one who had do deal with a zombie for days on end! Don't I get a hug?" the voice behind them made them laugh, and Charlie let Bella run to give Billy a hug.

Their reuniting was cut short by Paul and Leah as they raised their voices, and laughter by others of the group. Paul was yelling at Leah for letting the vampires get the better of her during the battle, and she was defending herself in a hostile manner, if it was possible. Bella went to Jake's side as he watched them with a knowing smile on his face.

Leah threw up her hands and turned, but before she'd taken a step Paul had grabbed her wrist and spun her around, crushing her against his chest as he assaulted her mouth with his. The kiss turned searing quickly and more shouts started up. Finally Paul let up and looked down at her with eyes filled not with anger, but a hot demand and… love. "Damn you woman, don't you ever get it? Why do you think we always seem to be around each other? It's sure as hell not cause of your sweet personality or your cooking!"

Leah scowled at him darkly as she shoved at him, but he would have none of it. He bent low and rose with her over his shoulder, carrying her away while she yelled at him the entire time.

Seth looked shocked. "Are they mates or something?" He sounded completely dumbfounded.

Jake nodded, having been able to look into their thoughts while they fought. "Yeah. They imprinted early on, before they were even able to turn into wolves, but they're both so damn stubborn neither realized it until Leah was almost killed by the vampires during the fight. Paul found out _real_ quick what was going on between them when she was about to be shredded apart or poisoned." He laughed, looking back at Sam. "And you knew the entire time."

Sam shrugged. "I am _not_ a matchmaker." He looked horrified, and Emily laughed, kissing him.

Bella shook her head and looked back up at Jacob, her chocolate eyes shining with love. He leaned down and pulled her into his tall frame, kissing her softly, tenderly. People started to notice after a little bit and Sam's voice broke them apart. "Okay people, nothing to see, go home. Don't you people have anything better to do? Why are you all still here, anyway? Just cause we brought someone back to life doesn't mean you get to become barbarians and live in the woods forever. Go on! Get! Shoo! Go back to your dens and fancy houses, all of you!" He took Emily's hand and led her away after the rest of the elders, leeches and dogs, looking back and winking at them, while Bella turned a lovely shade of rosy red.

Billy and Charlie looked at each other, Billy's black eyes laughing and Charlie's wondering what the hell to do now. "Come on, old boy. Let's go to your place and have a beer. I believe Jake set up that thing at your place to record the games. Maybe we'll be able to figure out how to work it so we can watch it."

Charlie looked horrified. "Oh, no, I'm not leaving those two together. They'll—"

"Oh, yes. They will. And we most certainly do _not_ want to be there for that." Billy laughed bawdily as Bella tried to smother herself with Jake's shirt and Jake laughed so hard he shook her small frame.

Charlie looked a cross between horrified and… well, sort of glad that Bella was just alive to do—nope, he wasn't gonna finish that. In his mind, no one was doing anything, and that was that. He allowed Billy to lead him away, though he denied it loudly the entire time.  
Jake pulled her face out of his chest and his eyes roamed her features quietly, studying how everything was different when she was alive, how he loved every single quality to her. She was doing the same, and a smile lit her face and he swore his heart skipped a beat, as cheesy and girly as it was.

"Bella," he breathed, and it was only natural that they leaned in and he kissed her with such heat her breath hitched. He yanked away and grabbed her hand, and she laughed as they ran so fast they were a blur against the trees as they ran towards the house.

The minute they were through the door he kicked it closed and spun, picking her up and pinning her between the wall and his large body as his mouth bruised hers and she responded like a flash fire, going wild in his arms as her own wrapped around his neck and pulled him even closer, her legs wrapping around his waist and pressing his hardness against her heat, even through their jeans. She made a sound that stripped any piece left of his restraint and he ripped her shirt, sending buttons flying and ripping material in his haste to get to her skin. She was just as bad, yanking his shirt over his head and sinking her teeth into the tendon at his neck.

Now it was Jake's turn to groan as he stretched his jeans to the point of agony. She found the exact spot to make him whimper and sucked mercilessly. He took a step back and wobbled, but kept his feet under him as he started for the bedroom. Every step was torture as she rubbed herself against him and he nearly pleaded for an end, but finally he hit the mattress and fell over her. Before she could get her breath back he was yanking her pants away to reveal the silken skin that glowed in the moonlight. His head dipped and he teased the spot just bellow her belly button, making her grip his hair and arch her back.

"Jake!" she cried, needing him now more than ever. He grinned against her softness and hooked his fingers in the last remaining article of clothing, drawing it down slowly and making her breath hitch even more in anticipation. Throwing it somewhere behind him, he bent his head as he spread her legs, her smell going to his head and doing funny things, like it was intoxicating him. He couldn't resist her any more and he bent his head, licking once, roughly, and felt her moan under him. He grinned again as she pulled at his hair, her fingers curling. His tongue found her again and brought her to a fever pitch.

He was so intent on bringing her to her climax that he was completely blindsided when she used her amazing new strength of a wolf and rolled them, slinking down his body and turning the tables on him. She grinned against his skin now as his hips arched, demanding to be released from the hell called blue jeans. Her low laugh tightened his body and he gripped the sheets, ripping them as his nails lengthened to claws, threatening to make him lose his human from. Her own fingers slowly undid the button of his jeans and pulled the zipper down, allowing him to breathe once more as the pressure eased. Now it was Bella's turn to go wild, and she ripped the cloth from him and made him hiss in a breath as the sight made him harder for her. Her eyes were nearly black now as she reached down and took him in her hand, her mouth finding his again. Jake swore he saw fireworks as her tongue tangled with his and he bucked against her hand.

He cupped her face in his palms and held her still while he devoured her with his mouth, biting her lower lip and spearing her mouth with his tongue suggestively, making her moan and arch against him. He couldn't take it anymore and rolled, gripping her hips. One of Bella's hands anchored in his hair while the other released his shaft to wrap around his shoulders, pulling him so they were skin to skin at last. Her legs wrapped around his hips and he tried to go slowly, pushing into her hot body a bit at a time, but she drove him on, pushing her heels against the small of his back and breaking his control as he drove into her with a savageness that would have made him pause if she hadn't shuddered around him and almost made him lose himself right then. A muscle in his jaw spasmed as he thrust into her, driving her higher and higher.

Bella thought she was going to go up in flames. It was like the time in the forest when she'd been consumed by the energy, only now it was all Jake's doing. He plunged into her again and again while she was still rippling around him and clenching him tight. A scream tore through her as she came again, but he didn't stop. He rose up to his knees and took her hips in his hands harder now, moving against her with so much force she couldn't stop shaking now, one orgasm ripped into another. She couldn't take it anymore and wrapped her legs around his waist again, arching against him to meet his strokes and this time when she came she locked her legs, keeping him inside of her. Jake roared and fell over her, shuddering as his body pulsed inside of hers. He finally lay spent, the wildness slowly sliding into a soft bliss that made them smile foolishly at each other.

"You're gonna kill me someday," he laughed, and it made him move inside of her again. She moaned low in her throat at the sensation. He tried to still the laughter as he looked at her pleased face, like a cat who'd just gotten the canary, but wasn't completely successful.

She sighed happily and snuggled into him. "If it gets any better, we might. Now _this_ is a welcome home I like."

Jake sobered quickly. "Bells… what happened? All of it."

She moved, and he complied, rolling so she was on top. Bella propped her chin on her fists, which in turn rested on his chest as she looked into his eyes. "Sam and Seth found the logs from the previous packs, and they told me that I was… was…" she tried to remember.

"The Dreamcatcher."

She nodded. "Right. So we looked around in them, trying to find anything that might give us an upper edge."

"And you found it," he said darkly.

Bella's eyes grew soft as she traced his face with one hand now, settling her head against the crook of his neck. She smoothed the line over his brow and the hard edge to his lips. "No, not really. It took a long time to find a recording about a tribe that tried to war with ours, and even though they had a lot more wolves, the alpha-female-dreamcatchery-person was able to stop them by singing something. I don't know, it just felt… like something I remembered from a dream. I don't know how to explain it, it was just like seeing shapes in smoke or something. But we couldn't find anything else after a while, so we decided it was useless." Jake remained quiet. Only the tightening of his grip let her know he was listening. And remembering. "Then, during the battle, I don't know. I looked around and saw you being swallowed alive by the vampires, and Leah falling down, and it seemed so hopeless."

"And then Seth said now and Sam ordered you to do something. I heard it right after Leah went down." His voice was tense. Bella felt the echoes of grief in him and blinked back tears.

"Yes. I'm not exactly sure where I got the words from, or the melody, but it just seemed natural, like something I _had_ to do. And then the energy…" she shook her head against him. "I still don't know exactly what it was. But then I felt _everyone_, every person there, and it felt like I was being burned alive from the inside out…"

Jake silenced her when his arms nearly crushed her. "You were in a coma, Bella. You were gone. Not dead, just gone! I couldn't find you…"

He felt tears against his neck as she nodded. "I felt something snap and it was like being ripped away. I couldn't figure out what was happening, it was just like being shoved underwater and rushed down rapids that never ended. Every time I got my head above water and could figure out where I was, it would change again, and I would be back under. The worst part was that everything was black and there really wasn't any sound or feeling. I was just stuck somewhere, and it was like being sucked everywhere at once." She shook against him and he cradled her now, sitting up and letting her cry against him as he stroked her hair, letting his own heartache ease and go away.

"You will never, _ever_ have to worry about that again, Isabella. We worked hard to get you back, but it worked."

She raised her head and looked at him with liquid eyes. "What do you mean?"

Jake brushed her tears away with his thumbs, sighing. "You know Sam and Emily are having a baby?" She nodded. "Well, he's not aging, but they are. So they decided it was time to pass on being the alpha to the one who usually inherits it."

"You."

He nodded. "Seth thought up a way that it might bring you back." He shrugged, neglecting all those hours he had grieved losing her. "It worked. I snapped the tie from Sam, and the others followed suit, and the new pull was enough to-"

"Bring me back." She smiled. "I remember suddenly feeling something, and hearing your voice. It almost hurt, because the silence had finally gotten to be normal. Then your voice came through, and I felt you reaching for me." She cupped his face in her hands and smiled up into his eyes as she traced his features with the pads of her fingers.

Jake smiled back, leaning in to kiss her lovingly. Gently. As wild as they had been last time, he was infinitely gentle and tender as he made love to her in the early hours of dawn, the sun just beginning to shine over the edge of the horizon.

"I love you," he whispered, looking into her eyes.

"I love you," she whispered back, and they smiled adoringly as they sun shot rays into the room over them.


	24. Challenge! ! !

Yes, as most of you can tell, I have added a chapter that is NOT a chapter! This is a challenge to you, my fantastic, amazing readers. I want to know what YOU think and feel about New Moon, both book and movie.

I would like you to tell me what you wanted to be changed as you watched/read it, what parts made you think, "SEE, Jake and Bells are _meant_ to be together!" and what parts you wanted to change so Bella and Jake could be together and grow to love each other.

So I ask you now to help me out, because I'm going to be writing more fics about our beloved couple, but I want to know what **YOU WANT** to read! Mail or put in reviews, it doesn't matter, feel free to do either--or both, no pressure! Until then, I'll wait to put up one of my favorite chapters, and you will too, so help out and you'll see quicker!!!

Thank you very, very much for your support and wonderful words! **Much much much much** love!!! _-__Kasha_


	25. Chapter Twenty Two: Caps and Rings

_**A/N:**__ AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH I love you people! You are so incredibly fantastic!!!! I love your responses to this last note!!! Anyone who just read it but you're a little shy about posting a suggestion now, PLEASE do! I'd love to hear your opinion as well!!!  
Okay, OOONNNEEE last thing: if you wanna know what Bella's ring looks like, go to here:  
_

.com/images/3-gems%20engagement%20ring%20C.C.%20sapp+4mmRD%

_to see it!!! So pretty! ^^_

_

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**Chapter Twenty-Two: Caps and Rings**

Life seemed to mellow after that, something Bella was eternally grateful for. It left time for lots of bonfires as the weather warmed and winter's grip let go suddenly. Unseasonably warm temperatures made it easier for the pack to go shirtless-well, the _guys_ to go that way-without seeming out of place.

Bella was thankful that while some things changed quite a bit-like the Cullens joining the bonfires every once in a while-others stayed the same. Leah and Paul still bickered, but more and more Bella noticed one or both's eyes drifting towards the other with a soft look. But both Emily and Sam continued to come, and it seemed like the pack was still constantly at their house, eating their food and treating Emily like their mother.

It was during one of these groupings in front of their fire, cookies stacked high on the tray, that Jake slipped.

"Jake!" Bella looked horrified at him.

"You know they'd want to know," he shrugged. The others just laughed.

"Our Bella's growing up so fast!" Quil faked brushing away tears. "Already, she's graduating! It seems like just yesterday she was running wild."

Leah snorted. "That's cause it_ was_ yesterday, mutt."

The pack laughed while Bella looked like the world was ending. How was she supposed to explain why there was a pack of fully grown, completely muscular boy-men set loose on her school for the ceremony?

"Unless," Seth said quietly, and Bella looked up quickly at the hurt in his voice. "Unless you'd rather not be seen with us, you know, in front of your other friends and all..."

Now Bella looked horrified for a completely different reason as she waves her hands in front of her frantically. "Nonono, Seth, it's not that, honestly! If you can stay quiet and not yell, or cheer, or anything like that, then I'd love it if you came to it!"

Seth still looked unsure. "You promise?"

Bella nodded with a wide smile. "Of course, Seth. You guys are family, you know."

Jared made an 'awww' noise, and Bella turned pink. "We lub you too, Bewwa," he made kissing sounds and she flushed darker. Jake made a low sound, only a little serious, and the wolf quit teasing her with a laugh. "Down, Kujo, I was joking." Jake rolled his eyes.

That was how Bella had gotten herself into the mess she was currently caught up in. She walked towards the stage trying to ignore the bad feeling she had.

"Isabella Marie Swan."

Instantly hollers and shouts from her group-including Charlie and Billy!- chorused. She was going to wring their hides! But for right now all she could do was walk across the stage with a face flaming red. And Jake! He was the worst of them all! Oh, when this thing was over and there were no witnesses...

She was so busy planning his ultimate demise that she missed a step and had to skip a few times to keep her balance. Wasn't she supposed to be super graceful now that she was a super powerful, super strong, super fast alpha wolf?! Why couldn't super elegant come with it? She'd have to have a talk with those damn ancestors, cause she'd gotten the short end of the stick somewhere!

Oh, when they were out of here and no one could hear him scream...

_As long as it's in pleasure, babe,_ he rasped in her mind.

Bella swore she turned five shades of pink as she sat in her chair.

_Can it, dog-breath_, she muttered.

Chuckles lingered in her mind, along with a lingering image that made her flush even more. Damn that overgrown Todo, and his dirty mind too!

_**Two years later...**_

Bella smiled as she watched Emily and Sam on the other end of the bonfire. Somehow, when they'd said they wanted to throw a graduation party, she hadn't figured thought of this. Silly of her, to not. It was, after all, her pack, and what other way to party than to be down at the beach with a roaring fire? After all, they'd done the same thing for her graduation just a couple years ago, so why not when Jake, Quil and Embry finished up?

But the flames weren't what held her attention at the moment. It was the fact that Sam and Em looked so damn peaceful where they were, just snuggled up against one another, and how it was like one giant family here, with Billy telling stories, Charlie looking like he was in heaven after Emily's cooking, and the boys looking caught up in a net as some part of the story drew them in.

"You look like you've found heaven," Jake whispered in her ear, and she looked up at him. She was sitting in between his legs on the ground, while he was plopped on a log that he'd dragged into the sand, arms around her while he breathed in her smell contentedly.

Bella turned and smiled at him, a smile that sparkled in the night and made him realize once more just how lucky he was, how beautiful she truly was, inside and out.

"I think I have," she sighed, and nestled into him.

He kissed her forehead, then felt something in his pocket jostle and knew instinctively now was the perfect time. "Come with me for a walk," he breathed intto her hair, and he felt her nod against his lips.

Taking her hand, he nodded to Billy and Charlie before walking slowly down the moonlit shore, aimlessly meandering in the sand. When they reached a smooth log that had a perfect dip for someone to sit in, he drew her over to it and sat her down, then crouched down in front of her. Looking up as he was, he saw her curiousity swirling in her eyes, as if she was trying to puzzle it out. He smiled and took her hands in his, soft and just a little nervous. Okay, a lot nervous, but he wasn't going to let that ruin the moment.

"Bells, I know that you're in college now and I'm just outta school, and that things are more than a little chaotic and hectic-"

Bella placed her fingers on his lips, chuckling. "Jake, I'm just going to the community college for business, I'm not going to switch to a big university or anything, so don't worry about me ditching you."

He looked startled. "Business?" How had he missed that detail over the past two years?

Bella looked sheepish. "I was thinking, well...you know, since Forks doesn't have a bookstore...that maybe I could—uh, open one."

Jake could just picture Bella with a cozy little place, curled up with a book or ringing someone up behind a mahogany counter that contrasted her pale skin and dark hair. "Bells, that's perfect!"

She beamed now, obviously overjoyed that he thought so too. Jake leaned in and kissed her quickly, but energetically before leaning back.

"There's another thing," he said with a soft smile, and took her hand in both of his, cradling it like it was glass. "Bells, you're it for me, you know this. You're my imprint. Thousands of threads hold us together, and I wouldn't change it for the world. I want everyone to know it." He reached into his shorts pocket with one hand and pulled out the velvet box, still holding her hand with his other one. Flicking it open with his thumb, he watched her eyes fly open, her lips parting on a silent gasp of surprise.

"Bella, I want to wake up with you next to me, your smell holding me close and your body warm against mine. I want to have kids with you someday, copper and pale and dark eyed munchkins waking us up by jumping on us on Christmas day. I want to grow old someday, or not, if you want to live forever. Just say you'll live that time with me. Marry me, Bells. I promise you that I will show you for the rest of our lives just how much I love you. Just say you'll give me that chance." His eyes gazed soflty into hers, yet still managed to show the love and adoration he felt for her. Molten black eyes met soft, melted chocolate as her eyes finally looked into his. Tears sprang to her eyes and she paunched into his arms, laughing and crying and saying, "Yes, yes, yes, of course yes," while smothering him with kisses.

Jake's breath whooshed out as he wrapped his arms around her, back hitting the sand with an audible thump and he laughed as she peppered his face with kisses. He raised his head and caught her lips with his at last, sealing the declaration with a sweet kiss, one that left her melted, pliant over him. He smiled and raised her hand until he could slide the tiny ring over her equally tiny finger. He'd asked Charlie his permission a week ago and told Billy, Em and Sam his intentions the day after. Emily had jumped up to hug him while Sam and Billy looked proud. And Charlie hadn't even issued a warning! Just smiled, nodded slowly, and said good luck. He and Emily had gone out to buy the ring, since Emily _was_ a girl, and Jake had no clue where to start. But the minute he'd seen this one, he'd known it was right. It was simple, the band was smooth and thin, rounded a little at the edges and a soft gold. The two diamonds on either side of the main stone were so fine they were transparent and shone a golden light twinkling with silver, but it was the center piece that had caught his eye. Not quite blue, yet not quite purple, it shown brilliantly, yet was so quiet—amazing and simple at the same time! It was hers, he knew it, so there had been no question.

Now he smiled as it rested perfecly on her finger, so delicate but strong, and he couldn't help but laugh and kiss her as he felt complete joy rush through him.

She was his! She'd said yes! Amazement and complete wonder lit his face as his lips moved with hers and he felt her hands brush through his hair and frame his face.

Suddenly he jumped up, her in his arms, and spun them around, unable to stay still with the happiness pouring through him. She laughed and flung her arms out, tilting her face up to the sky. He kissed her once more, than set her down gently and took her hand. "We should tell the pack."

Bella nodded. "Absolutey."

Em was the first to notice, and she squealed, a horrifyng noise that made all of the men cringe. Bella barely had time to look over before she was attacked by 140 pounds of pack-mother. Bella felt the laugh well up out of nowhere and couldn't stop it, feeling total and complete joy in the moment. If any time was perfect, it was right now, with her family and Jake and Emily being so Emily—and Jake.

Charlie was the next to get up, and for once he didn't seem to even hesitate before showing affection—and in _public_! He smiled, knowing as whipped as Jake was, he'd take good care of his little girl. "I still want meatloaf on Thursdays, you hear?" he said, making her tear up and laugh at the same time. He smiled, pulling her close for the first real hug he'd given her in over a dozen years. "You'll do great, Bella," he whispered in he hair, and kissed the top of her head before letting her go.

Billy was already rolled over to them, and was currently wearing a rather smug expression. "A Black, huh? You know, not just any old girl gets to be one of—"

"Get over yourself, Billy! You'd sell yourself for her piecrusts alone!" Quil grinned—and munched happily on said object, which he had sneakily stolen from the dessert basket, or what was left of it.

Billy didn't even turn, just chuckled as he drew her down for a hug. "I want grandchildren, you hear me? Lots of them."

Charlie looked a cross between horrified and hopeful. "I don't think we need to go there yet, Black."

Billy turned to raise a brow at him. "Come off it, old man. Don't tell me you—"

"That's enough for tonight, Dad," Jake said quickly, anticipating his words and hoping to avoid the conversation entirely.

Billy laughed and nodded. Before he was even back to his spot Bella had been picked up and passed around for hugs like a doll, slobbered on, bear-hugged, and then unceremoniously thrown back to Jake, who just laughed through the entire ordeal! She scowled a him, but her protests were muffled when his lips crushed against hers for a moment, long enough to steal her breath but pulling back before she could respond in kind. He kissed her softly once more to pacify her.

And ended up with a piece of pie crust stuck in his hair as Embry rolled with laughter and slapped hands with Seth.

_Hah, boys_... Bella thought.


	26. Chapter Twenty Three: Three Years Later

_**A/N:**__ Thank you so much, guys, for all of your support and wonderfulness! I cannot thank tell you how much this means to me, or your awesome responses to it! This will be the last chapter of this fic, but there are others I'm working on at this very moment, so be sure to keep in tune with those adventures that crawl out of my head for you to read! _

_**Much, much, much love!!! ~**_Kasha

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**Chapter Twenty-Three: Three Years Later…**

It was a typical day in Forks: rainy, around sixty degrees, and clouded. But on Mainstreet a popular new place had opened up just a couple months ago. The brilliant PawPrint Bookshop was _the_ place to get together in Forks, now. With comfortably dim lighting, a fireplace that worked, rows of books where people could often be found sitting and reading, and the big comfy chairs and couches and the cafe, PawPrint was a dream come true.

"Bells, how are you doing?" The runner of the cafe part of it all, Em came out from behind the counter during a slow time to go to the main register.

"I'm fine! Much better than earlier!" Bella looked radiant today—though she'd never notice it herself. But others did. They saw the beautiful dark hair and depthless eyes, kind eyes that saw everything and said it was okay. They saw a happiness that lit her face and gave her a bounce in her step.

And little did she know that there was _much_ to be happy about!

"Em, can I leave you with the shop for a while? Just until I get done with this doctor's appointment?"

Em smiled knowingly. "Sure, sure," she said nonchalantly, making Bella laugh. It was such a... a _pack_ thing to say now!

"And save me one of those monster cookies!" Bella grinned as she walked out the door to her car.

Emily turned to the adorable baby girl resting over her chest in a brightly mutlicolored, bohemian sling. Smiling, she stroked the downy hair of her second daughter, Olivia, and whispered to the sleeping girl, "You're going to have a cousin soon, sweetie. I know that look—oh, do I know that look! But we'll just let her discover that for herself, now, won't we?"

The baby stirred at the soft words and smiled in her sleep. Em beamed and wished her friend all the happiness she felt herself from being a mother.

"Jake! Jake, where are you?"

At first Jake thought something was wrong-a vampire attack? Or something horrible happening to the pack?- and he bolted out from beneath the lovely old thunderbird he was tinkering with.

"Bella? What is it? What's wrong?" He ran towards her, careless of the grease on his hands as he cupped her elbows and studied her face for any signs of fear of distress. But... there was just Bella, looking astonishingly beautiful—as usual, but she never seemed to see herself like he did. But there was something different, something that really made her glow.

"Bells, what is it?" He smiled now, relaxed.

"Close your eyes." She practically blinded him with her smile, so he did what she asked automatically.

He felt a towel over his hands now, taking away the gross slime on them, and then... cloth. Knitted cloth, like sweater material.

"Okay, open them."

He did, and saw his hands over her stomach.

She watched as he went curiously blank for a moment. "You're... hungry?"

Bell giggled, making him grin. "Try again, silly!" She placed her delicate hands over his huge ones and watched as it sunk in.

Jake felt the answer penetrate his brain slowly, and he looked up into her eyes, then down at his hands-_their_ hands-and back up again. "You're pregnant. We're having a baby. We're pregnant!" She nodded vigorously, and he let out a giant whoop as he picked her up, holding her as close as he could. "When?" he whispered against her hair.

"September."

He tried to figure that out. "That would mean..."

"It was a very happy Christmas." She kissed him, all bundles of happiness and joy.

"Yes, it was. A very, very happy Christmas, Bella Black. And there are, I believe, many, many more to come."

_The End. _


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